Thou Art a Contractor
by jkawsome
Summary: Even with over fifteen years of peace between Britannia and the world at large, corruption and evil still seep through the cracks. Ren Amamiya hopes to change this with his friends as Phantom Thieves. The problem is, Ren was once Lelouch vi Britannia - even if he doesn't know it yet - and his past life isn't going to let him go so easily.
1. Chapter 1

**This was inspired, as so many of these stories are, by the fact that Lelouch and Ren have the same voice actor, and share many characteristics. Still, I haven't seen a fanfiction with the exact same premise as this one, and I hope all of you enjoy it! **

* * *

Ren Amamiya was born on the day the Demon Emperor died.

It wasn't something he had ever thought about that much as a child; he had simply enjoyed the fact that he always had his birthday off, as Lelouch vi Britannia's death was an international holiday. When he was very young, he would see the parades through the streets, the loud cheerful speeches, the parties that lasted long into the night, and he somehow got it into his head that all the celebration was for him, that the whole world was celebrating his birthday.

Ren was older now, and knew better. Just like he knew that despite all the celebrations, the newly freed countries, the world peace that had already lasted for fifteen years and showed no sign of stopping, darkness and corruption still seeped into every nook and cranny of the world where the one universal holiday was the celebration of a man's death.

(Not that he didn't hate the man who caused the world so much grief, but it was telling that more people seemed to focus on celebrating the man's death rather than the peace that followed. It was somewhat sickening.)

Ren contemplated all of this as he sat in the police station, waiting for someone to pick him up after hours of rough handling, spat accusations, talk of trials, and possibly Juvie. All because he wanted to step in and protect a woman from being assaulted. Because he wanted to do the right thing.

Everyone talked about how peace had finally been achieved, and how humanity as a whole was finally starting to move forward and better itself. But the truth was that some humans were as petty and awful as they'd always been, and no amount of peace had kept Ren, or that woman, safe tonight.

Footsteps approached him, and Ren looked towards the sound. A part of him was hoping that it would be one of his parents, but he couldn't even muster up the energy to be disappointed when it turned out to be Dojima instead. The detective worked in Inaba, where Ren lived (he was arrested in Okina), and was one of the few genuinely good cops Ren had met. He was also the father of Ren's only friend. That didn't stop anger from swelling up in him when Dojima looked down on him with a disappointed expression, although it did drive him to try and quell said anger.

"I'm here to bring you home, kid." Dojima was gruff as always, and sounded deeply disapproving. Ren wondered if he should ask about his parents, if they knew about what had happened, but decided against it. There was no point, not when he knew they didn't care enough about him either way. Wordlessly, he got up and followed Dojima as the man checked him out of the station.

"Keep your eye on that one," the officer at the front desk warned Dojima as they left. "Don't want him running off before his trial."

"I'll keep that in mind." Dojima's voice was ice cold, and Ren took a small amount of pleasure in that. They got into Dojima's car, Ren sitting in the back rather than his usual seat in the front. He didn't think Dojima would take that very well after tonight.

"I hope you know how disappointed I am in you," Dojima started as they pull away from the station. "You're a friend of my daughter, and I've known you for years. I expected you to know better than to get into fights and hurt others."

So Dojima didn't know the details behind the case, only that he was arrested for assault. At least that means he might listen to the truth. "I didn't want to hurt anybody," Ren refuted. "I saw a man hurting a woman, and I stepped in to try and help."

Dojima, who was drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, stilled. "Is that so?" His voice was quiet, even enough that Ren, who was usually good at reading people, couldn't tell what he was thinking. "Tell me what happened."

And so he did, and Dojima listened, actually listened to him, and it was like a weight was lifted off his chest. Perhaps there was someone who is still in his corner, someone with authority who cared that he was wrongfully accused.

The tale lasted the whole car ride home, with Dojima asking various questions that Ren tried to answer. It was harder than he thought - for some reason, the drunken man's face eluded him - but by the time they pull into Ren's driveway, he was sure he had Dojima fully convinced of his innocence.

"Don't worry," Dojima told him as he parked the car. "I'll do some digging, see if I can find the man who had you arrested. I've got contacts in lots of places - at the very least, I see if I can shorten your sentence."

"Thank you," Ren said gratefully, giving Dojima a small smile as he steps out of the car. Dojima nodded and frowned to himself as he pulls away. Ren walked into his house, finding it as empty as he expected it to be, but hopeful that maybe things wouldn't be as bad as they seemed, that maybe he could find a way out of this.

* * *

In the end, Dojima's efforts paid off, and he was put on probation for a year, sent off to Tokyo to live with some stranger he's never heard of. Better than juvie at least, but even if he hated this town, with all its gossip and pettiness, all the people disliking him for being part Britannian even though there's been peace now for longer than Japan was even occupied, he was going to miss Nanako, the stray cats on the floodplain he liked to take care of, and about a dozen other little things that made the nowhereness of Inaba bearable.

Nanako met him at the train station before he leaves. The fourteen year old girl was teary-eyed as she gave him a goodbye hug.

"You have to email me every week, okay?" She said fiercely. "Promise!"

"I'll try," Ren said. He didn't know how strict his probation officer and new guardian would be, whether he'd be allowed to keep in contact with anyone from home. He hoped so, but didn't want to make a promise he can't keep.

He told her as such, and Nanako considered it. "Well then, ask if you can, and try really hard, okay? I want to hear from you."

"I can do that," he conceded. The train pulled into the station. Nanako gave him another hug, and Dojima patted him on the back, and then Ren was off, leaving the only place he'd ever called home, the only friends he'd ever made.

It made his heart ache. It also felt like a new beginning.

* * *

Tokyo was far noisier than anywhere Ren had ever been before. The trains were absolutely filled with people, and the streets even more so. He couldn't help but pause in the street, looking around at what could be hundreds of people, going about their day all around him, completely unaware of the nuanced lives of everyone they passed. It was almost overwhelming.

A flash of green caught Ren's attention, and he squinted in the direction it has come from. There, on the sidewalk, was a woman with long, bright green hair, in somewhat unusual clothing. She was looking his way. Perhaps it was Ren's imagination, but it felt as though the woman was staring right at him.

He blinked, and she was gone. Ren searched the crowd once more. No sign of the woman. A slight buzz caused him to look down. There on his phone was a strange app, red with a white eye in the center.

By the time he'd recovered enough from whatever the hell that was to delete the app, the green-haired woman was far from the front of his mind.

* * *

Yongen was a quaint neighborhood, especially for one located in a city such as Tokyo. Ren felt as though he could explore it forever, but eventually, after a brief stop by the Sakura house and run in with the mailman, he made his way to the café LeBlanc, where his new guardian apparently worked.

LeBlanc was as cozy as the street it's located on, feeling right out of a tv set. A man in a pink shirt and apron sat doing the crossword as an older couple discussed a violent crash that had apparently just taken place. They eventually got up to leave, and the other man waved them out before pinching his forehead.

"Four hours for a single cup of Joe." Ren wondered if the couple was more annoying than they had let on, or if the man just didn't like his customers lazing around his shop without buying. It was pretty obvious that this was the man who owns the place anyhow, which made him Sojiro Sakura.

Sojiro caught his eye, before narrowing his own and standing up. Ren decided it's as good a time as any to introduce himself.

He gave a short bow. "Sojiro Sakura? I'm Ren Amamiya. I'm in your care."

Sojiro looked unimpressed. "You're Amamiya, huh? I was wondering what kind of unruly delinquent would show up, but you're the guy. Did you know? A customer of mine knows your parents, and-" He cut himself off. Just as well, because Ren would rather not think about the fact that the only person his parents could find to take him in was the owner of a shop their friend frequented. "Anyways. Follow me."

Ren let Sojiro lead him up the stairs at the back of the café. They reached the top, a room so dusty parts of the floor look almost white. Bags of assorted broken things littered the floor, old books stacked all over the desk, and a clear sheet laying on top of it.

His box of things was in the middle of the room. Why were his box of things in the middle of the room? Ren had a bad feeling about this.

"This is your room," Sojiro said, as if he was doing Ren a favor by having him stay here. He might as well have slapped him in the face. There's basic common courtesy, there's being a bitter asshole, and then there was _this_.

Ren looked at Sojiro, thoroughly unimpressed. "I think there's more dust in here than there is floor."

"I'm going to give you sheets for your bed," Sojiro snapped back. "You're a healthy young teenager, you can clean this up yourself."

"Oh, are you going to go to the amazing lengths of making sure I don't starve as well?" Ren snarked, red hot anger flaring up in him. "How noble of you. Is this even legal? Maybe you usually store your trash here, but I'm an actual human being. You can't just throw me away like that." In another time, if he was another person, he might've just taken it all silently. As it was, however, Ren had just about reached the end of his rope when it came to people looking at him like he was dirt on the bottom of their shoe.

Apparently this was the wrong thing to say, as Sojiro ditched the slouch, rising to his full height, making him taller than Ren. "You want to compare your situation to trash? Then this is the dumpster, where everyone, including your parents, threw you away because they couldn't wait to be rid of you. I'm your absolute last resort, and if you try anything funny, then you're going to juvie. Now, clean up your room." And with that, he stormed down the stairs.

Ren curled his hands into fists and tried not to scream. He wondered if there was ever a time he didn't have all this pent up anger inside of him, ready to burst out at any given minute. He had no idea where it came from, but it had always been with him, and sometimes Ren couldn't help but feel like it was consuming him from the inside out.

The only thing to ever go right for him was possibly meeting the Dojimas, and now he wasn't going to see them for an entire year.

He dreamed of a blue jail room, with two twin girls with white hair and golden eyes as wardens, and an old man with an impossibly long nose, telling him about upcoming ruin, and how he must prevent that from happening. There was no specification, no telling exactly what this ruin is, or how he can stop it, or what "rehabilitation" even means in the context that this Igor guy was using it. He wanted to disregard the whole thing, but couldn't seem to bring himself to do so.

* * *

The principal of Shujin academy was a fat bald man with the biggest chin Ren had ever seen, and what looked like no neck at all. He was thus dubbed 'Principal Neck' in Ren's head, because with the was the man was sneering at him, Ren really didn't feel like being respectful.

"To reiterate, just so we're clear. You will immediately be expelled if you cause any problems," Principal Neck said, looking at him haughtily. It would be more intimidating if he didn't have to look upwards from his desk to do so, of course. "Honestly, I hesitated on accepting someone like you, but there were circumstances on our side. You might've done a variety of things in hiding in your hometown-" Ah yes, like playing with stray cats in secret. How awful. "-But you will behave yourself here."

Ren forced a mask of politeness onto his face. "I understand."

Principal Neck motioned to the slender woman standing next to him. She looked extremely tired. "This is the teacher in charge of your class."

"I'm Sadayo Kawakami. Here's your student ID." Ren took the ID. Kawakami-sensei's voice was as tired as her expression. "If by chance you cause any problems, I won't be able to protect you." She looked towards the principal, who assured her as such. Ren's mask became a little harder to uphold.

"They're treating you like some kind of nuisance," Sojiro said, as they walked out of the office. "Guess that's what it means to have a criminal record. Turns out your past follows you wherever you go." He looks sideways at Ren. "By the way, if you get expelled, I won't hesitate to kick you out, got it?"

"I think I scrape by." Ren couldn't hide all the sarcasm in his voice. "Of course, if I didn't get expelled for something illegal, you'd be breaking the rules of my prohibition as well by kicking me out." He doubted anyone would take his side over Sojiro's but that didn't mean he was going to let the man walk all over him. "So let's both be careful, yeah?"

Sojiro glared, and Ren savored the taste. "What a brat you are. No wonder you ended up out here. Let's just go."

* * *

Sojiro made curry for him his first day of school, and Ren wolfed it down. It was amazing, but he didn't really feel like telling the man that, not after he called Ren trash and made sure he knew the shop owner was only looking after him (for lack of a better word) because he was being paid to do so. So Ren just thanked him quickly before getting out of the shop.

Of course, the universe just has to balance out his luck by making it downpour that day. Ren cursed and ducked under an overhang, running a hand through his hair. Just what he needed, to come to his first day of school totally soaked.

Someone else slipped under the overhang with him, pulling their hood down to reveal flowing locks of what looked to be natural blonde hair, unusual for an almost entirely Japanese high school. The girl who the hair belonged to noticed his gaze, and gave him a small smile. Ren cautiously smiled back. There was something vaguely familiar about her, although he couldn't figure out what it was.

A car rolled up to them, and the small moment passed. The window rolled down to reveal a curly haired man with a strong jawline. "Want a ride? You're going to be late."

"Sure, thanks." The girl said, although she didn't sound too happy about it. She slipped into the passenger's seat, eyes downcast.

Finally, the man seemed to notice that Ren was there as well. "You want a ride too? He offered. Ren shook his head. Something about the guy was off, and he'd rather follow his instincts on the matter. Still, it was odd, watching the car drive away with that girl. He couldn't help but feel like he was missing something.

"Dammit!" A voice called out from behind him. Ren turned to see a boy with bleached blond hair running up to him, face screwed up in frustration. "Screw that pervy teacher!"

"Pervy teacher?" Ren repeated, almost in alarm. If that girl had gone with some sort of predator…

The vulgar looking boy turned back to him with a defensive glare. "What? You planning on ratting me out to Kamoshida, or something?"

"What?" Ren frowned. "I have no idea who that is." _Unless._ "Is he the man in the car? The one you called a Pervy teacher?"

"Yeah, that's him," the blond scowled. Then his his lit up with curiosity. "Wait, you're saying you don't know Kamoshida? Are you for real? You are a student of Shujin, right?"

Ren shrugged. "This is my first day. Transfer student. Haven't really gotten myself acquainted with most of the staff yet, save for my homeroom teacher and Principal Neck."

"Principal Neck?" The blond gaped at him for a moment, before bursting into laughter. "Oh, that's a good one. I like you." He stuck out his hand. "Ryuji Sakamoto, but Ryuji's fine. Fair warning about Kamoshida, since you're just starting here, he thinks the school is his castle, and that he can do whatever he wants there."

"Ren Amamiya. Ren is also fine. Thanks for the warning." He pulled away. "We should get to school."

"Yeah. Ishikawa-Sensei would tan my hide if I'm late again." Ryuji laughed lightly. "Could be worse though. 'Least the rain's not to bad."

They started to walk again, but something hit Ren like an invisible wave, causing him to clutch his head as dizziness rushes over him.

Ryuji seemed to feel it too. "Ugh, this sucks. I wanna go home." But the feeling faded away, and they proceeded forward, taking the shortcuts Ryuji seemed to know by heart. At one point, something in a puddle of water caught Ren's eye, but when he turned around, he saw nothing. Ryuji had gotten ahead of him, so he decided to ignore it and keep going.

They turn the last corner to what Ren hoped was the school, and when Ryuji yelled out in surprise, Ren honestly couldn't blame him.

Instead of a school, a giant medieval castle from a Britannian or European storybook loomed over them. The sky had gone from gray to an ominous red. There was an industrial sign right outside that said "Shujin", but everything else was wildly different than what it had been like the day before. Something like unease clenched in Ren's gut.

"How- we didn't come the wrong way!" Ryuji glanced backwards, as to make sure of his statement.

"There aren't any giant castles in Tokyo, as far as I know. Then again, I'm new here," Ren commented, trying to keep his own worries down. "I'm guessing Shujin doesn't usually look like this?"

"What?" Ryuji looked at him strangely. "Of course not! This is super weird!" He looked back at the castle. "Should we just… go in?"

It sounded like a terrible idea, just walking into this strange otherworldly place. On the other hand… "Do we have much of a choice? Where else are we going to go?" Ren pointed out.

"Y-Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Let's do this." They made their way into the castle, and Ren tried to ignore all the little alarms in his head.

The inside was even darker and gaudier than the outside, with stone walls, velvet curtains, and low hanging chandeliers. At the top of the ornate staircase in front of them was a painting of the man from the car, Kamoshida, wearing elaborate clothing frequently used by Britannian royalty. Something dark turned over inside him.

"This has something to do with Kamoshida, he murmured to Ryuji.

"Dude, are you sure?" Ren pointed towards the painting, and Ryuji grimaced. "Okay yeah, fair point. This place is giving me the creeps." He checked his phone. "Out of service? Where did we end up?"

The clanking of footsteps drew their attention over to a metal clad knight, who was carrying a sword and shield. The figure made their way over to them without saying a word. Ryuji looked up at them curiously. "Hey, are you dressed for something? Do you live here? Can you tell us what's going on?"

"I don't think they're here to talk," Ren muttered, spying more knights moving in on them. Ryuji sucked in a breath, moving behind Ren to cover his back. Not that Ren was sure they could take on these knights in a fight anyways, but he appreciated the thought.

Sure enough, one of the knights slammed Ryuji in the stomach with their shield, and Ryuji fell to the floor, gasping for breath. He turned back to Ren, eyes wide. "Get out of here, these guys are serious!"

"I can't just leave you," Ren protested. _You're the only person that's been decent to me since I got here_.

The point turned out to be moot anyway. Another one of the knights slammed something into Ren, and he knew nothing.

* * *

"Hey! Are you okay?"

When Ren came to, he was in a dungeon, straight out of some medieval book on torture. The "bed" was a solid slab, the walls were mossy stone, and different cuffs and torture devises hung on them. Bars separated the small room from the rest of what must've been the basement, where rushing water could be heard.

Ryuji was leaning over him, looking worried. "Hey, you're awake!" He stepped back so Ren could sit up. "How are you feeling?"

Ren groaned and rubbed his forehead. "Like I just got hit in the head. But I'll be fine. You?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine too." Ryuji looked around their cell. "Guess this isn't a dream. Dammit." He ran over and banged on the cell bars. "Hey, what's going on? I know there's someone out there! Let us out!"

Ren grimaced at the loud noise. "Somehow I doubt the people who locked us up are going to let us out just because you yelled at them."

"Shut up, smartass." Ryuji didn't look pissed at him, so much as worried. They both jumped as someone screamed in pain from another cell. "This shit is real, this shit is effin real. What the hell are we going to do?"

"Look for a way out, obviously." Ren pulled himself to his feet, shaking the final bits of dizziness away. "You check one side, I check the other?"

Ryuji nodded. "Yeah, sounds fine to me." Ren turned his attention to the stone walls, examining them for any holes, any weak points to be exploited. If this was modeled after some sort of story, it might make sense for the cliché escape routes to be there. Unfortunately, there weren't.

"Hey, someone's coming." Ren jogged over to the bars, where Ryuji was already looking out. More of the knights where marching up to them.

"Be glad that your punishment has been decided upon," One of them said, in an almost echoey voice. "You have been charged with trespassing, and unlawful entry. Thus, you will be sentenced to death."

_Seriously_?

"Seriously?" Ryuji echoed Ren's thoughts out loud.

"No one is allowed to do as they please in my castle." The knights parted and out walked Kamoshida, wearing nothing but a crown, a cape of Britannian nobility, with hearts instead of any particular noble's patterns, and a tight pink… _yikes. No wonder he doesn't want anyone coming in his castle_.

"K-Kamoshida? For real?" Ryuji gaped. "What are you doing? And what the hell are you _wearing_?" He slammed his hands against the bars again. "You bastard, let us out!"

"I thought it was some petty thief, but to think it was you, Sakamoto." Kamoshida turned to Ren, and Ren saw golden eyes instead of brown, like before. "And you brought a friend this time, because you can't do anything by yourself." He sneered at them. "Not only did you enter my castle without permission, but you committed the even graver crime of insulting me, the king! The punishment for that is death." He turned to his knights. "Time for an execution. Take them out!"

The two stumbled away as knights swarmed into the cell, Kamoshida right behind them. Ryuji's eyes darted from Ren to Kamoshida, before she charged into one of the knights, sending it tumbling to the ground. "I ain't down for this shit. Let's get out of here!" Before he could make another move, however, another one of the knights slammed into him, knocking him over with a pained groan. Ren ran over to help, but was thrust backwards.

"Just go, get out of here!" Ryuji gasped in pain. "These guys are serious."

Kamoshida looked over him snidely. "Oh? Running away, are we? Some friend you are."

"He's not a friend, we don't even know each other," Ryuji snapped back. "Go!"

"Like, hell. I'm not leaving you here." The burning anger in Ren's gut was getting stronger, more powerful than it had been in all of his life. He felt like he was almost burning up, like he was going to burst. And for once, he had something to target it towards. He glared at Kamoshida. "Like I'd just let this crazy bastard kill you without a fight."

That wiped the smile off Kamoshida's face real fast. "You know what? Keep him here. After the pheasant, it's his turn to die."

Two of the knights slammed Ren to the other side of the cell while Kamoshida gleefully beat on Ryuji, mocking him the entire time. He slammed the blond boy to the ground. "Where'd you energy from earlier go? Scum like you isn't worth beating." His grin widened. "I'll have you killed right now."

One of the knights lifted Ryuji up by his throat. Ryuji kicked as hard as he could, but the grip holding him was firm. The knight lifted up their sword.

Ryuji… was going to die. He was going to _die, nononohecouldn'twatchsomeonedieagain-_

"_This is truly an unjust game_," A young woman's voice murmured. Ren could swear he saw a blue butterfly floating above him. "_Your chances of winning are almost none. But if my voice is reaching you, there may still be a possibility open to you_."

"_What's the matter?"_ A new voice called out, silky smooth, and almost the exact same as his own. "_Are you just going to watch as the one person here who cares suffers and dies? Are you really going to do nothing? Were your previous actions a mistake then?"_

Unbidden, memories of the night he was arrested returned to him. The fire inside Ren _burned_. "No," he hissed. "It wasn't a mistake. It was _right_."

"_Very well then."_ The voice sounded pleased. "_Then we can forge a contract. I am thou, thou art I."_ The burning sensation flared up over his entire body, making him twist in pain. Images passed through his mind, and although most made no sense, the green woman from yesterday was there. "_Thou art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice! Show the strength of thy will, though thou be chained to hell itself!"_

The burning was still there, but more manageable now. Enough for Ren to hear Kamoshida calling out for Ryuji's execution.

"That's enough, he growled. Kamoshida turned his cruel gaze to him, and the knight dropped Ryuji.

"Huh? You really want to die that much? Fine." He motioned for his knights, who slammed against him with their shield, and pinned him to the wall.

There was something like a release of power from within Ren, and a burst of wind sent to guards flying away. When it faded, he could feel something heavy on his face. He touched the sides of it. A mask.

_I have to get it off_.

He ripped at it, as much as he could. _It's stuck!_ He pulled further, feeling pain and blood as the mask started to come off, taking the skin underneath with it. But when it was off….

Ren smiled. Fire burst in existence all around him, covering him, although he felt no pain. Save, strangely enough, for one of his eyes. A figure, _a persona_, rose above him, covered in black and gold and red. Ren raised his hands, and Arsene swept out his wings, sending everything flying.

"_I am the pillager of twilight, Arsene!_" His persona announced. "_I am the rebel's soul that resides within you. If you wish, I will grant you the power to break through this crisis._"

"Yes," Ren agreed. "Lend me your power."

"_Very well then_."

"Who the hell are you?" Kamoshida hissed. "Guards!" The knights rose once again, twisting into odd pumpkin figures with lanterns. Jack-o-Lanterns?

"_Detest the enemies before you,_" Arsene announced. "_Change that animosity into power - and unleash it!_"

Ren knew what to do. "Eiha!" Magic flowed out from Arsene, dissolving one of the Jacks.

"_Swing your blade!_" Arsene commanded.

Ren had taken gymnastics and dance for as long as he could remember. He was never sure what had created the drive he had to stay in shape, but it certainly came in handy now. Finding a knife appearing in his hands, Ren danced around the second Jack, slicing it to ribbons before it too dissolved.

"_This power of mine is yours! Kill them however you want. Run wild to your heart's content._" Without Ren keeping him solid, Arsene vanished. Still, Ren could feel him, inside his heart, in place of all the burning anger that had been there his entire life.

It was… nice.

"What - what was that just now?" Ryuji asked aloud. He seemed to be looking at Ren's clothing. Ren looked down to see that his school uniform was gone, and in its place was a long dark coat, vest, and bright red gloves.

"Kamoshida finally brought himself to his feet. "You little…!"

Ryuji slammed into him as hard as he could, sending him flying. "Oh yeah? You like that, you son of a bitch!?"

Ren scanned the room. "Ryuji, the keys."

"Hm? Oh yeah!" Ryuji snatched them off the ground and they ran out of the cell, locking Kamoshida in. The horribly dressed teacher slammed against the bars, to no avail. "There we go! Come on, let's get out of here."

* * *

**And here we have the first chapter! Although it's started off very similar to the game, things will start to move away from canon events as time goes on, due to this taking place in a very different Japan, and a Joker who used to be Lelouch in a past life. Of course, he isn't the only reincarnated Code Geass character, nor the only one among the Phantom Thieves. One of the other's might be obvious, but many more have yet to show up! **

**Parings for this story have not been decided yet, so feel free to pitch in with what you would like the main pairings to be, and why. All comments regarding will be taken into consideration when deciding.**

**With all that said, I hope you enjoy, and please review, let me know if you liked it! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again! Back with another chapter! I'm really glad to see people are enjoying the story, and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.**

**Answers to the comments can be found at the end of each chapter.**

* * *

"_You have made it to the real world. Welcome back._"

Ren looked around. They were standing on the sidewalk, by a street, with plenty of people rushing past. No weird red sky, or ominous castle, or looming knights to be seen.

Arsene was still there though. Ren could feel his persona, just underneath the surface, a small reminder that everything really happened.

Ryuji was leaning over, panting. "Did we make it out?"

"Looks like it." Ren was back in his normal clothes, and while those cool fancy clothes had appeared and disappeared in the castle, he doubted he could summon them now. "Guess we really made it out."

Ryuji just shook his head. "What was all that anyways? With the castle, and Kamoshida, and that weird cat?"

Weird cat was one way of putting it. When they had been trying to escape the castle, the two of them had run into an oddly shaped mascot-like figure, one that looked vaguely like a monster cat of some kind. He called himself Morgana, had a persona named Zorro, and had helped them escape the rest of the palace.

"I have no idea," Ren admitted. "But I'm sure that wasn't some crazy dream."

Ryuji looked almost desperate for that confirmation. "Oh yeah? How?"

Ren shrugged. "Since I got Arsene, the persona, in that cell, something's felt different. It still feels that way now, even though we're in the real world."

"That still doesn't explain what the hell is going on!" Ryuji just looked even more confused. To be honest, Ren couldn't blame him. He was almost surprised he wasn't freaking out just as much. Maybe he should've been? It was like there was something inside him, telling him that this wasn't the first time he'd interacted with the supernatural, even though he was sure he'd remember if he had stumbled on any strange castles before.

"What's all the yelling?" Ren and Ryuji spun around to see two cops, one holding onto a bicycle, strolling up to them. "Are you students of Shujin? Cutting classes, are we?"

"W-what?" Ryuji yelped. "No! We were trying to get to school, a-and we ended up at this weird castle!" Ren almost facepalmed.

Neither cop looked impressed. "Hand over your bags. You'd better not have any drugs in there," One of the officers commanded, sounding tired.

Ren decided to step in. "Sorry, he was covering for me. I just moved here, and got lost on my first day. He was trying to help me get to school, since we live close by, but with all the train delays, it ended up taking a lot longer than either of us suspected."

"That's right," Ryuji chimed in. "Don't just go around expecting the worst of some high school students, geez."

The officers looked them over. One seemed pretty pissed off by Ryuji's comment, but the other, who obviously had more authority, looked as though he just wanted to get this interaction over with. "Hurry up and get to class, before we need to alert your school."

"Of course. Thanks for your understanding." The two walked away and towards the school as fast as they could.

"Didn't really take you as one who sucks up to authority," Ryuji commented on the way. "Nice acting though, quick thinking. I just blurted out what came to mind."

"Thanks. And if there's one thing I've learned, it's that police are either scum and won't listen to you no matter what, or they just want the whole ordeal to be over with, and will go with the most convenient excuse to get things wrapped by as fast as possible, with only a few exceptions." Ren's thoughts drifted to Dojima, as they approached a perfectly normal-looking Shujin Academy.. "Looks like we're here."

"There you are," someone called out from the top of the stairs. Ren looked up to see a staff member he had yet to meet looking down on them. "Sakamoto, and you." His eyes drifted to Ren. "We received a call from the police about you two."

Ryuji kicked the ground. "Damn cop snitched on us after all." Ren shrugged, wholly unsurprised.

"It's rare not to see you alone," the staff member commented. "Where were you roaming around all this time?"

"He was helping me find my way," Ren burst in quickly, before Ryuji could say anything. "It's my first day at this school the trains were delayed, and I got lost. Ryuji was helping me."

"Is that so?" The man seemed skeptical, and Ren doubted there was much he could say to change the man's mind.

"What's going on here?" Ryuji physically jumped back and Ren tried to hide his shock as Kamoshida, in normal clothes with normal eyes, walked out from behind the other staff member and looked them over. There was nothing in his expression to indicate that he knew what had just happened.

"Kamoshida?" Ryuji gasped.

"You seem so carefree, Sakamoto." Kamoshida smiled, and Ren balled his hands into fists. "Quite a difference from when you did morning practice for the track team."

Ryuji glared at him. "Shuddup! It was your fault that-"

"How dare you speak to Kamoshida-san that way!" The other man snapped. "You're on thin ice as it is, Sakamoto. There's not much leeway left for you." Ren watched Ryuji stiffen.

"Oh no," Kamoshida waved it off. "Let's just say we're both to blame."

The staff member still seemed disgruntled, but let it go as per Kamoshida's request. "In any case Sakamoto, you'll need to explain yourself. Follow me."

Kamoshida's eyes left Sakamoto and drifted over to Ren. "By the way, you're that new transfer student, right? Ren Amamiya?" Ren nodded, not trusting himself to say anything. Ryuji left with the other man, shooting Kamoshida one last glare as he went.

Something seemed to flicker in Kamoshida's eyes as he looked Ren over. "Have we met somewhere?"

A slight panic formed in Ren's chest, but he pushed it down. "I saw a girl get in your car. You offered to give her and me a ride."

"Oh, That's right." Kamoshida looked convinced, at least. "I remember now. Well, I'll overlook this just for today. I'm sure you've heard from the principal, but cause any trouble, and you'll be expelled, understand."

"Of course." As much as it pained him to do so, Ren tried to reign in the sarcasm. He was sure some still slipped out, but not as much as there otherwise would've been.

"Hmm. At any rate, hurry up and go to the faculty office. I'm sure Kawakami is tired of waiting for you." Something ugly twisted the man's face, just briefly, and he smiled at Ren. "Good luck trying to enjoy your school life."

Something burning and dangerous flared up in Ren, and he wanted nothing more than to tell the asshole just what he thought of him. The darkness that he had channeled with Arsene was right as his fingertips, ready to be unleashed at the man.

"_Patience,"_ Something in him murmured, sounding just like Arsene. (Or maybe it was just him? They sounded pretty much the same.) "_Revenge will be better served later."_

Ren took a calming breath. That was true, of course. There was nothing he could do about Kamoshida now. For the moment, he just had to wait it out.

* * *

Whispers followed him all the way to Kawakami's office.

"It's that transfer student-"

"I hear he hides a bunch of dangerous stuff in his bag-"

"Isn't he a criminal that's gotten into all sorts of dangerous things?"

"I hear he's part _Britannian_-"

Ren ignored all of them, making his way towards where he needed to go, keeping his eyes from straying towards the other students and their whispers. It wasn't as though he was unused to whispers about his parentage, and what that meant, after all. At least these kids had the decency to say it upfront, and not just whisper about it and send him looks when they thought he wasn't watching.

Kawakami was waiting at her desk in the faculty office, looking drained and annoyed. She glanced up as he walked over, and her expression didn't change.

"Unbelievable. Being over half a day late on your first day? Can you explain yourself?"

"Trains were delayed from the accident, and then I got lost," Ren decided to stick with the story he and Ryuji had already come up with. "This is only my second day in Tokyo, after all."

"That's true…" Kawakami muttered, as if trying to decide whether his story held merit. "But you're still way too late. And I heard you were caught along with that Sakamoto-kun." She rose from her desk. "Come on. I'll bring you to class."

_That Sakamoto_? "You know, he's not that bad of a person," Ren said as he followed her. "The reason I was with him is because he found me wandering around, lost, and helped me get to school. He seemed nice enough."

Kawakami looked surprised, but seemed to shrug it off. "That's good and all, but he's a known delinquent at our school. If you're going to try and get yourself back on the right track, he's not the person you want to stick with."

"If the nicest person I've met here is a delinquent, what does that say about this school?" Ren muttered under his breath. Kawakami pretended not to hear him, and soon enough they were at the classroom.

Before they entered, Kawakami turned to face him. "When you introduce yourself to the class, be serious, okay? Even if you're lying, don't say anything unnecessary." Ren didn't even dignify that with a response, and they entered.

The blond girl from before was there. She looked up and caught Ren's eyes, and for a moment, he could've sworn he knew her from somewhere, beyond their quick meeting earlier. Then Kawakami directed him in front of the class, and the moment was over.

The mutters filled his ears the second he entered the classroom.

"Being super late on his first day? He really is insane."

"He looks normal though…"

"But he might slug us if we look him in the eye." (Ren was sorely tempted to do so. He could almost hear Arsene laughing.)

"Settle down," Kawakami sighed. "I'd like to introduce our new transfer student, Ren Amamiya. Today we… had him attend from the afternoon on, since he wasn't feeling well." She turned to him. "Alright, please say something to the class."

"Nice to meet you all." And if Ren's smile was sharper than usual, well, Kawakami wasn't saying anything. Murmurs broke out again. Kawakami then directed him to sit behind the blond, which just seemed to make everything worse.

"Do those two know each other?"

"Does that mean he hit on her before transferring here?"

"They are both Brits, after all."

"Ugh, that side of the room is totally the worst."

"That means she's cheating on him with Kamoshida-sensei! Then again, this is Takamaki-san we're talking about." That particular sentence caught Ren's attention, if only because of what he had seen earlier. He watched Takamaki to see how she reacted. She was staring straight ahead, rigid in her seat. Those words were obviously lies, and Ren couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy.

* * *

As much as Ren would rather kill time somewhere else and avoid the inevitable conversation with Sojiro, he decided to head back to the café as soon as possible, to get the harsh words and possible yelling over with. Sure enough, when he entered LeBlanc, Sojiro was there, glaring at him.

"I got an interesting call from your school today. It's only your first day, and you're already showing up hours late?"

Ren rolled his eyes. "It was an accident, even if you obviously don't believe me. It's almost like this is my second day in Tokyo ever, and I've never taken the train to my school before."

They stared at each other, challengingly. Sojiro was the first to look away. "Just behave yourself, alright? Your life's forfeit if anything happens. You do understand the meaning of probation, right?"

"Yeah, it's crystal clear." Ren made his way past Sojiro, and to his room. "But thanks for repeating it."

* * *

He awoke in the strange blue room again, in a tattered prison suit and chains. Soft music seemed to play, filling the otherwise harsh space. Caroline and Justine were to his left and right, and Igor sat in the middle of the room, as he had before.

"About time you came to," Caroline snapped, banging her baton against the bars. "On your feet, inmate!"

Justine was much more calm. "Our master wishes to speak with you. It's best that you take his words to heart."

"First off, let us celebrate our reunion," Igor said, his voice deep and grating as always. "Oh…? And you've awakened to your powers as well. Special ones, at that. Your rehabilitation can finally begin." Ren opened his mouth to ask more questions, but Igor seemed to know what he was going to say. "There is no need to understand for the time being. You will be training the power of Persona, which you have awakened to. Personas are - in other words - a mask. An armor of the heart when confronting worldly matters." His grin deepened. "I have high expectations for you."

Ren narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

"There is no need to worry," Igor assured him. "You will know when the time comes." Which wasn't reassuring at all.

Still, something told Ren that Igor was far more powerful than whatever it was he had faced in the castle. There was no way of overpowering the "man", at least not yet. Perhaps if he played along, he would figure out more.

"By the by, have you come to appreciate the Metaverse Navigator?" Igor asked. "Using it will allow you to travel between reality and palaces." So the Navigator was that strange app that had kept popping up.

"Well that explains why I couldn't delete it," Ren muttered. Igor laughed.

"Yes, that is why. I bestowed it onto you as a means to train you as a thief." Caroline looked up at him.

"The Metaverse Navigator is a gift from our master. Take care in using it, inmate!"

"Devote yourself to your training, so that you may become a fine thief."

* * *

Not much changed the second day, save for the fact that Ren remembered to bring an umbrella. The whispers followed him throughout the hallways, and into his classroom, and they only seemed to get wilder.

"I heard he carries a knife around with him-"

"I heard he and Sakamoto got into a fight yesterday, and the police got involved-"

"I heard he killed someone!"

Classes weren't that much better. Their social studies teacher, Ushimaru-sensei, decided to throw a piece of chalk at Ren, he dodged, and it hit the poor kid behind him.

"New kid," Ushimaru-sensei snapped. "The Greek philosopher Plato divided the human soul into three parts. The soul is composed of appetite, spirit, and what else?"

"Logic," Ren answered dully. The whispers broke out again, and this time, he just tuned them out. If teachers were hoping to get him in trouble by throwing trick questions at him, they were going to be very disappointed.

Besides, considering what happened yesterday, he had a lot to think about. If the strange app was what had allowed him and Ryuji to enter the castle - the palace - yesterday, then maybe he could use it again. Something was very wrong there, and at the school in general, and Ren couldn't just leave it alone.

They were walking out of class at the end of the day, when Kamoshida approached Takamaki, who was just ahead of him. "Hey there Takamaki! You looking for a ride home? Things have been pretty dangerous lately, with all the accidents."

Takamaki avoided his gaze, playing with her hair. "Sorry, I have a photoshoot today. It's for the special summer issue, so I can't afford to miss it…"

"Hey now," Kamoshida smiled down at her, something lecherous in his gaze. "Being a model's fine and dandy, but don't work your pretty little self down to the bone. You mentioned you weren't feeling well, right? Something about appendicitis?" As if it wasn't clear enough that Takamaki didn't want to be around this guy.

"Yeah, I keep planning to go to the hospital and get it checked out, but I've been too busy recently… sorry to worry you." Takamaki was gripping the strap of her bag tightly.

"You're a model then?" Takamaki's gaze shot up to meet Ren's looking surprised. "That's pretty neat. How long have you been doing that?" Ren ignored Kamoshida's burning glare to focus on the blonde girl.

"Oh, about a year or so. Not too much time, it's just a part time job-"

"Well if you've got an important photoshoot to get to, you should be going, Takamaki," Kamoshida interrupted, looking rather peeved. Takamaki shot Ren a grateful look before hurrying off. Kamoshida turned back to Ren. "I'd stay away from her, if I were you. Takamaki doesn't need criminal scum like you around her."

"Looks like she should avoid volleyball then, as a general rule," Ren quipped. "Careful. People might get the wrong idea about why you're giving her a ride. I'm sure I did, just now." He left before Kamoshida could say anything else.

Ryuji was waiting for him outside. "Yo."

Ren smiled. "Who are you again?" Ryuji punched him lightly.

"Ha ha, very funny." He looked away. "Listen, I spent all day thinking about that castle, about the shit that other Kamoshida was pulling there. And I know we saw some other people trapped in there. I dunno about you, but I can't just ignore that shit."

"Me neither," Ren agreed. "I was thinking of going back in today." He pulled out his phone, showing Ryuji the app. "Apparently this is what got us there. I think we could use it to go back."

"Glad we're on the same page." Ryuji took the offered phone and looked over the app. "Let's see… there's something about Kamoshida on here. It says Kamoshida, Shujin, Castle? Let's try that." He pressed the button.

"_Beginning Navigation,"_ A familiar female voice said. Ren's head spun, and so did everything around him and Ryuji. When he blinked, the old stone castle had replaced the school.

"We're really here! The castle from yesterday!" Ryuji turned to him, and seemed to do a double-take. "And, your clothes! They're back to being weird again." Ren looked down to see he was back in the long coat, gray vest, and dark pants. Concentrating, he could feel the mask on his face as well.

"Looks like it." Ren looked down at his red gloves. "I dunno, I kinda like it."

"To each his own, I guess," Ryuji said, sounding somewhat perplexed. "But anyways, we should probably try and go back in through the air vent we came out of. That way we can avoid being caught by those guards again."

"Least you've got some brains in you." They both whipped around to see the strange cat, Morgana, pattering over to them. "Stop making a commotion, you two. I came over here to see why the shadows were acting up. Why are you even back here, after all the trouble you had getting out the first time?"

"It's not like we could just leave this alone," Ren pointed out. "Not after what we saw yesterday. We have to understand what's going on."

Morgana seemed to be trying to discern if he was telling the truth, but eventually he smiled. "That's a good answer. I like it."

"Why do I get the feeling if I said that, you would make fun of me?" Ryuji muttered. Morgana ignored him.

"If you wanna know why this place is what it is, think about the real world Kamoshida. He thinks of himself as a king, and the school as his castle. He's a _really_ distorted person, so he unconsciously made a palace, where his shadow is a far more literal king."

"I don't get it," Ryuji muttered.

"I think I do." Ryuji looked to him. "We're in a different plane of reality, where really messed up people have warped everything around them to show how they really view things. Kamoshida thinks that he's the king of the school, so in this place, he really is."

"That's one way of putting it," Morgana agreed. "Anyways, if we're gonna sneak around the palace, we should be really careful. I don't think any of us want to get caught again."

They headed towards the vent, and climbed in, one at a time. Ren was last, and as he was climbing up, he could've sworn he saw a flash of green hair. He looked again, and it was gone.

* * *

They made their way deeper into the palace, hiding and ambushing the shadow monsters whenever they could. Every time, Ren summoned Arsene, he felt a rush, like something special was falling into place.

Ryuji had brought a fake gun along, and to his and Ren's surprise, it actually worked. Morgana explained it as being in a sort of cognitive world made things that looked really actually real, although the explanation was contradicted by Morgana's own slingshot, which did just as much damage.

They followed the yells, the people begging for "no more", until they came to overlook what must've been the gym.

Down below, kids in sports uniforms were tied to the net, and were being beaten by the shadow guards. Ren could only watch on in horror.

"What the shit? What the shit, this is so effin' wrong…" Ryuji muttered eyes wide.

"People would have said something if students were missing, right? Ren tried to reason, keeping his voice steady. "Maybe - maybe they're just a part of the castle, constructs like those guards."

"That's exactly what they are," Morgana informed them. "They're cognitions, how Kamoshida views the real life version of them. Like very realistic and similar looking dolls."

Ryuji leaned closer to the bars. "That doesn't make this any less messed up! I know these people, those uniforms. They're kids on the volleyball team, the one that that bastard Kamoshida coaches." He looked back down. "So the school is a castle, and the students are slaves… it's so on point it almost makes me laugh." He scoffed. "This really is the inside of that asshole's head."

"This is awful," Morgana agreed. If he treats them this way here, that must mean he's doing something similar in reality."

"He's doing similar shit in real life?" Ryuji repeated, voice nearly cracking from anger and disbelief. "Shouldn't we report something like this to the police?"

"Like they would believe us. Still, we can't let him get away with this." Ren's voice left no room for argument.

"Yeah." Ryuji pulled out his phone. "Maybe we could use these guys as evidence?" He squinted then cursed. "Camera's not working. Dammit, how come only that weird app works here, and nothing else?"

"Probably because it's connected to this place," Ren pointed out. "And I doubt people would believe photos of this, even if the camera did work. They'd think it was photoshopped or something."

"Yeah yeah. You're right." Ryuji sighed. "I'll just memorize all their faces before we go." He lingered a moment, before they moved on, looking at the different cells housing different players, all of whom moaned or sobbed about how hopeless resistance was. They came across a room where students were running for their lives without any water, and another where a student was strung upside down by his ankles, and a volleyball was being fired into him by a cannon.

"What the hell?" Ryuji breathed. "This isn't training, it's just straight up violence! This means he's been doing something similar in reality too? Damn that bastard!"

"Are you done yet?" Morgana tapped the ground impatiently. "We need to get moving!"

"Yeah, just a sec." Ryuji finished up memorizing everyone, and they sprinted away, finding themselves in the entrance hallway once again.

"So much for not coming through here," Ren muttered. Ryuji rolled his eyes. Morgana, who was a few paces ahead of them, stopped short, and they looked up.

In front of them was the golden-eyed shadow Kamoshida, with three guards, two normal and one golden. "You knaves again?" Kamoshida's eye seemed to twitch. "To think you'd make the same mistake again. You're hopeless."

"Sometimes it does pay to be a slow learner," Ren said dryly. Ryuji stepped forward.

"The school ain't your castle!" he announced. "I've memorized all the faces of the kids you've hurt real good. You're going down!"

Kamoshida didn't look to bothered. "It seems it's true when they say barking dogs seldom bite. How far the star runner of the track team has fallen. Ah yes, the "track traitor", who acted in violence, ending his teammates dreams! I can only imagine the pain of those who were dragged under with your… selfish act."

Ryuji flinched back, as if hit, glancing at Ren with a panicked expression. Ren looked at him worriedly, and Kamoshida seemed to pick up on that. "Oh, you mean he doesn't know? How you betrayed your teammates and crushed their hopes, and yet you carry on, as carefree as ever?"

"That's not true!" But Ryuji seemed to have lost some of his fire, looking as though Kamoshida was saying things he had already felt.

Kamoshida smirked. "You've come along with this fool, and now you're going to end up dead. How unlucky of you." He motioned to his guards. "Go, kill them all. Don't sully my castle with garbage." The guards transformed into massive black horses with goat-like horns. Ren summoned Arsene and his knife, and Morgana whipped out Zoro and his slingshot, and yet the shadows seemed to absorb everything. More and more came, and soon Ren found himself being knocked to the ground.

Kamoshida stomped on Morgana's back. "You piece of-" The cat growled. Ren tried to get up, but another guard came and placed their foot on Ren's back.

Kamoshida grinned, then looked over to Ryuji, who had sunk down to his knees. "I bet you simply came here on a whim, and ended up like this, right? What a worthless piece of trash, getting emotional so quickly. Have you already forgotten my kindness in supervising track practice?"

Ryuji slammed his fists on the ground. "That wasn't practice, that was physical abuse! You just didn't like our team."

"They were nothing but an eyesore," Kamoshida hissed. "The only one who needs to achieve results is me. That coach who got fired was hopeless too. Had he not opposed me with a sound argument, I would've settled with only breaking his star's leg."

Dread ran down Ren's spine.

"W-what?" Ryuji looked up at him in disbelief.

"Do you need me to break your other leg too?" Kamoshida sneered. "The school will call it self defense anyways."

"So that's why…" Morgana murmured.

"Dammit… am I gonna lose again?" Hopelessness was written all over Ryuji's face. Ren founded that he hated that. "Not only can I not run anymore, but the track team is gone too 'cause of this asshole!"

"That's right!" Ren yelled, and Ryuji looked over at him, surprised. "It's all because of _him_, Kamoshida. Not you! Are you really going to listen to this scumbag mock you for something that wasn't your fault?" Ryuji opened his mouth to respond, but Ren pressed on. "I don't know what that whole "track traitor" thing is about, and honestly, I don't care. But you're the only person who's been decent to me the entire time I've been in Tokyo, and I refuse to let you think that this scumbag is right!"

Ryuji stared at him, eyes wide. Then a sense of determination seemed to come over him. "You're right. He took so much from me, and I'll never get it back. And maybe some of it was my fault, but it's mostly his!" He got to his feet. "You're the real scumbag, Kamoshida!"

Something seemed to happen, and Ryuji gasped in pain, eyes going yellow. He withered on the ground for a moment, before a skull mask appeared on his face. He ripped it off, and a blast of blue light sent the guards and Kamoshida flying away. Ren scrambled to his feet.

The light faded, and Ryuji was all black leather, with yellow gloves and a red scarf, and above him was a skeleton pirate riding on a ship like a skateboard.

Ryuji grinned. "Right on. "What's up, Persona? Now that I got this power, it's time for payback." Ren and Morgana stood next to him as the guards came charging at them. "I'm ready. Blast them away, Captain Kidd!"

* * *

They ended up in some alleyway behind the school. Ren waited for Ryuji to catch his breath. At least now he understood, the reason behind Ryuji's strange stance. _Kamoshida broke his leg_… as if the bastard hadn't already done enough.

"Thank god we're back," Ryuji sighed. He offered Ren a tired smile. "I dragged you around a lot, huh? Sorry man."

"Don't worry about it," Ren assured him. "I didn't mind at all. Besides, I wanted to go back to the castle too."

"...Yeah." Ryuji fiddled with his jacket. "You really don't mind? About all the stuff Kamoshida said?"

Ren scoffed. "Course not. Kamoshida is shit, and you're a decent person, how could I? Besides, you don't seem to put much stock in the rumors about me."

"Yeah, they seemed pretty off base," Ryuji laughed. "Although if you're trying to stay low, there's no point. Everyone knows about your record now, totally got you pegged as a criminal 'cause Kamoshida obviously opened his damn mouth. Guy just wrecks everything he doesn't agree with." His voice softened. "Just like he did with me."

"Hey," Ren put a hand on Ryuji's shoulder. "I'm glad it's you who I ended up meeting. You seem like the one decent guy in this whole school." He cracked a grin. "No one else I'd rather end up in a deadly castle and meet a magical cat with."

Ryuji laughed, cheering up. "Me too man. I get what you mean now, about feeling your persona." He looked at his hands. "It's like Captain Kidd's power is right there, below the surface." He yawned. "Ugh, I'm dead tired. And hungry. What about you?"

"I could use a nap," Ren agreed. Now that he thought about it, exhaustion was starting to creep up on him.

"Yeah. Still, things are going to get good." Ryuji grinned. "I remember everyone's faces from back at the castle. Once we get them to confess, Kamoshida is going down. Wanna help me look for any of those guys tomorrow as witnesses?"

"Of course." Ren took the offered fistbump. There was still something nagging at him though…. "You know, what people say about me being part Britannian, that's true. Do you mind?"

Ryuji gave him a blank look. "Why would I? Yeah, Britannia did a lot of shitty things, but that's not your fault. Why would I blame you for it?"

"No reason." There was a lump in Ren's throat. "A lot of people do, is all."

"Yeah, people do the same with Takamaki as well, even though she's only a quarter Britannian." Ryuji scowled. "It's super shitty. Trust me, I don't give a shit about any of that." He grinned at Ren. "But I do care about helping everyone who Kamoshida is hurting. I'm glad we're gonna take him down together."

"Me too." And there was that soft girl's voice, floating around the air.

_I am Thou, Thou art I, Thou hast acquired a new vow. _

_It shall become the wings of rebellion, that breaketh thy chains of captivity. _

_With the birth of the Chariot Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power._

Then the voice was gone. But there was something new inside Ren, something besides Arsene, and he could feel it connect him to Ryuji. _Huh. Interesting_.

"So, do you wanna get something to eat?" Ryuji asked. "I know a good beef bowl shop not too far from here. And you can tell me about your past!"

"Sounds good to me." They walked out of the alleyway together. Once again, Ren could've sworn he caught a glimpse of green hair.

* * *

"What!?" Ryuji yelped, as he was shoving food into his mouth. "How shitty can that guy get!?"

"Yeah, I know," Ren sighed, decidedly not mention the happy feeling he was getting from _finally_ being believed, _finally_ having someone agree that he did the right thing in standing up for that woman. "Still there's nothing I can do about it now."

"Still pisses me off," Ryuji grumbled. "Just hearing your story makes me angry. So you left your hometown, and you're living here now, huh? We might be more alike than I originally thought."

Ren raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? How so?"

"Well, it's not exactly how, but, you know," Ryuji shrugged and shoved some more food down. "I guess it's how we're treated like a pain in the ass by everyone around us, like we don't belong." He downed the rest of his food. "The place you're living now is in… Yongen, right? It's rush hour on the subways, so you should probably kill some time before going home." He brightened. "Hey, we should exchange numbers! Keep in contact!"

"Sounds good to me." They gave each other their phones and put in their numbers.

"Nice. Hey, what the hell man? You barely touched your food!" Ryuji put some more into Ren's bowl. "Anyways, I got your back like you've got mine from tomorrow on. Once Kamoshida is gone, I think we'll both feel a lot better about going to school."

"I think your right," Ren agreed. With everything that had been going on, with Kamoshida and Arsene and Morgana (and that strange green haired lady), it was nice to have someone looking out for him again. And with that Chariot bond, Ren could tell Ryuji was being completely honest.

Maybe things were looking up after all.

* * *

**Answers to the comments: **

**warrior of six blades: I'm glad you think it's interesting. Ryuji is not Tamaki, but you're right, they are pretty alike if you look at it a certain way. Good guess! This Ren is a bit different from the Ren in the original Persona game, and part of that means he's not just going to take things lying down at the beginning. I'm glad you like that! **

**KizaruBoss1: I have at least two Code Geass characters who I know for sure will be confidants, and a few who I'm considering adding, including Kallen, so I can't confirm or deny anything about her yet. Reguardless of whether she's a confidant or not, she will definitly be appearing in this story, so look forward to that. **

**Thank you everyone! I hope you enjoyed, and please leave me a review, let me know what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Another chapter, and pretty fast! Thanks to all of you who liked, followed, and reviewed (responses to comments at the end of the chapter), and thank you all for continuing to read! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well, and please don't forget to review!**

**Warning: This chapter contains an attempted suicide and mentions of rape, which are all from the game Persona 5. If that triggers you, stop reading at 'he felt like he had accomplished something', and pick back up again at 'Ryuji bought them all drinks'. Stay safe! **

* * *

Ren leaned against the gym wall, watching the teachers and students bounce the volleyball back and forth between them. Shujin had to be one of the few schools ever that would have a _volleyball _rally, of all things, but considering the grip Kamoshida had on the school, Ren was honestly surprised there wasn't _more_ volleyball related things going on.

"Still sticks out like a sore thumb, just like always," Ryuji muttered. Ren turned towards where he was looking, to see Takamaki sitting on one of the benches, twirling her hair between her fingers. Ryuji looked away after another moment, stretching out and giving Ren a grin. "Pretty boring, right?"

"That's one way of putting it," Ren agreed. He looked back at Takamaki. "You know her? Takamaki?"

Ryuji winced. "Yeah. We were pretty close in middle school, and at the beginning of last year… but things happened." He obviously didn't want to talk about it, and so Ren reluctantly dropped the subject.

He redirected his attention to the game, just in time to see Kamoshida slam the volleyball right into one of the boy's faces. He dropped like a rock, and all the cheer in the room seemed to have vanished. For a moment, Kamoshida just seemed to stare at him, and then he ran over to check the boy. Once he was off to the nurse, Kamoshida called for another round.

Ryuji glared. "He'll get what's coming to him." He picked up the stray volleyball and flung it back towards the court. "Just you wait and see."

* * *

Unfortunately, their idea of trying to convince the volleyball players to talk to them about the abuse didn't work, although Ren should've suspected. It was never easy, after all, admitting to being hurt by anyone, much less an authority figure.

The last person they asked was the boy who had been hit in the face by the volleyball - the boy in their class, Mishima, who seemed just as hesitant as his teammates when asked.

"We saw him spike you today, right in the face!" Ryuji pointed out.

Mishima looked away. "That was just because I'm not good at the sport."

"Hitting you in the face because you're not good at a sport isn't right," Ren said. "It also means that he hit you intentionally." Mishima's eyes widened. "You don't have to stand up to him, we're not asking you to do that. That's not fair to you. We just want to help."

"Is he forcing you to keep quiet? Mishima?" Ryuji looked genuinely concerned.

"That's…"

"What's going on here?" They all spun around, Mishima practically jumping, to see Kamoshida walking up to them. "Mishima, isn't it time for practice?"

Mishima stole a quick, frightened glance at Ren and Ryuji, before turning back to Kamoshida. "I-I'm not feeling so well today. S-Sorry."

"Oh?" Kamoshida put his hands on his hips. "Maybe you're better off quitting then. You're never going to improve that crappy form unless you show up for practice."

"Didn't you hear?" Ryuji snapped, looking at Kamoshida with utter loathing. "He isn't feeling well."

"If he's sick, he could get the rest of the team sick," Ren pointed out. "Wouldn't it be better to let him recover?"

Kamoshida snorted. "Clearly it isn't that bad." He looked over at Mishima. "Well? Are you coming to practice?"

Mishima looked down. "...I'll go."

Kamoshida smirked, then stepped forward, getting right up in Ryuji's face. "As for you, any more trouble and you'll be gone from this school for sure." He looked up at Ren. "Same goes for you. Didn't the principal tell you to keep in line?"

"I haven't done anything except get lost on my first day and show up to my classes." Ren said dryly. "But you know, you have an amazing spike." Mishima winced and held his breath.

Kamoshida scoffed. "Just stay out of my practice." With that, he turned and left, clearly expecting Mishima to follow.

"That asshole…" Ryuji growled. "He's gonna pay for this."

Mishima sighed. "Just stop. There's no point." They both looked at him. "Trying to get the other kids to confess is pointless. Proving that he's physically abusing us is meaningless. Everyone knows. The principal, our parents, they all know, and they all keep quiet about it."

"You're shittin' me." Ryuji gaped. Ren clenched his fists, feeling the anger flare up in him again. They couldn't just leave this be!

_The castle. If it really relates to Kamoshida's cognition, then maybe affecting it in some way will affect the man himself._

"Don't be a pain," Mishima shot back. "You don't understand what I'm going through. Shouldn't you of all people know that nothing is going to help?" Ryuji flinched, and Ren stepped closer to offer him some support as Mishima walked off.

"What do we do?" Ryuji asked aloud. "If what he says is true, then how do we fix this? We can't just let this go on!"

"I might have an idea," Ren told him. "Let's go somewhere private to talk."

Ryuji nodded. "The roof. Technically it's off limits, but it's always unlocked. We can talk there." He led Ren up the stairs and to the roof, where a few scattered desks lay around, as well as a few boxes.

Ryuji jumped onto a desk. "So, what's your idea?"

"It's not concrete yet," Ren admitted. "But the castle, the palace, that's basically how Kamoshida views the school and its students, right? It's the distortion in his heart. And he might not remember what does on there, but there's a very good chance that whatever happens there will affect him in the real world. So if we manage to change his palace-"

"You'll change his cognition. You're really smart, frizzy hair!" A familiar voice had them turning to see a black and white cat with intelligent blue eyes and a yellow collar stretching out behind them. "That's exactly what will happen."

Ryuji gaped. "Did - did that cat just talk?"

"Morgana?" Ren could hardly believe his own eyes.

"Yeah, it's me. You know, after you _ditched me_ back in the palace!" Morgana hissed. "And I told you, I'm not a cat! I just lost my human form, and now I'm stuck like this for some reason."

Ryuji turned to Ren. "You're hearing this too, right? It's not just me?"

"Meow?" Ren could answer sincerely of course, but what was the fun in that? Sometimes he enjoyed his own skill at poker faces.

"Not funny dude!"

"I dunno, I thought so." Ren turned back to Morgana. "I'm right then? By changing Kamoshida's palace, we'll be able to change his mindset?" Ryuji paused in his anger to listen to the answer, which Ren was grateful for.

"Yes, although there is a specific way we need to go about it." Morgan sat up and licked his paw. "In every palace lies a treasure, the source of the person's distorted desires, remove that, and you remove those awful desires as well. If we steal Kamoshida's treasure, he'll be unable to bear the weight of his crimes, and confess them himself! Not to mention without the treasure, the palace disappears, and with it, any trace of our involvement."

That… sounded perfect, actually. It was the perfect way to get revenge, having Kamoshida confess his crimes from his own mouth.

Ryuji seemed to agree. "Just like that, we can take the bastard down?" A grin split across his face. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's steal this sick son of a bitch's treasure!"

"Will you listen to everything I have to say first?" Morgana snapped. "Listen, there is a bit of risk involved. Stealing Kamoshida's treasure would remove the source of his distorted desires, yes. But desires are what we need to survive. The will, to sleep, eat, fall in love, those sort of things."

Ren narrowed his eyes. "You're saying that if we do this, there's the possibility that we turn Kamoshida into a vegetable."

Ryuji blinked. "A vegetable?"

"A vegitative state. He'd need life support to continue living, since he wouldn't be able to take care of himself. Might die if given proper care," Ren explained. It figured that their best option also had the biggest catch. But if it was the only way to stop Kamoshida's abuse…

_What's wrong with me? I can't seriously be considering killing someone!_

"We can't do that!" Ryuji yelped, looking horrified. "Isn't there something else? Can't we just - I dunno - call the cops or something?"

"They won't take us seriously," Ren pointed out. Ryuji shot him a betrayed look. "I don't want to kill him either. But going to the police won't help us." He pointedly ignored the awful part of him that actually seemed to be considering the idea.

Ryuji seemed to calm down. "Yeah, you're probably right. Dammit, this is so messed up!"

"Seriously?" Morgana said. "You're chickening out now? Don't you want to take down Kamoshida? Besides, it's not like anyone will know it was us."

"That's _so_ not the point!" Ryuji glared at him. "If we went around doing that to people, we'd be no better than that 'effin Kamoshida. There's gotta be another way."

"And I'm telling you, there isn't." Morgana flicked his tail. "You know what, fine. I'm going, for now. Talk to me again when you're ready to consider my offer. It's your only option, after all." He turned tail and scampered away.

"Damn cat," Ryuji muttered under his breath. He turned to Ren, eyes betraying his uncertainty. "We can't do that, right? We can't go around killing people, even if they are sick bastards like Kamoshida."

And maybe there was a part of Ren that thought Kamoshida deserved everything that could come to him, but he agreed. Killing people would get them nowhere, and if Kamoshida didn't confess, then there was no point at all. He might even be hailed as a good man after his death.

No, they needed to keep him alive so he could suffer for his crimes.

"You're right," he said. "There has to be another way."

Ryuji frowned. "I'll keep talking to the witnesses, I guess." He groaned. "Dammit, I was getting all worked up for nothing."

* * *

Ren made his way through the halls and towards the door, lost in his thoughts.

He couldn't stand Kamoshida. The rumors about him were bad, but they were nothing compared to Mishima's bruises, or Takamaki's panicked expression when Kamoshida had offered to give her a ride, or what they had seen in the palace. Kamoshida was a despicable person.

But the fact that he was still considering Morgana's offer, even knowing it might _kill_ the guy… what did that make him? What kind of person was Ren, that he'd take that sort of risk? He would never call himself saintly or anything, but he did think of himself as a decent enough human being. But the burning anger that never left until Arsene came along, the dark thoughts the plagued him now… could he really call himself decent?

Arsene flickered within him, but he received no comfort from that. Arsene was wild, his anger, and frustration and rebellious will made manifest, and certainly seemed interested in him taking revenge on his enemies. Did that also say something about him, how his persona acted? He wondered if he should ask Ryuji what Captain Kidd was like.

Paying no attention to his surroundings, he found himself bumping into someone. Ren looked up to see a girl covered in injuries and bruises, with dark, almost dead, eyes. _She must be on the volleyball team_.

"Oh," she murmured, soft and apologetic. "I'm sorry, I didn't see where I was going."

Ren stared at her for another moment, then let out a small sigh. "I'm sorry too. Are you alright?"

"Hm?" She glanced down, her fingers brushing over the bruise above her eye. "Oh, I'm alright. Just some tough practices, is all." She looked him over. "You're the new transfer student, aren't you? It might not be my place, but don't let the rumors get to you, okay?"

Something warm stirred in Ren's heart, pushing back the darker thoughts that had been running through his head. "Thanks, I appreciate it." He held out his hand. "Ren Amamiya."

She shook it. "Shiho Suzui. I sort of know what you're going through. My friend gets treated badly because of her looks and her parents, and it's never fair." Suzui blinks. "Oh, have I kept you? Sorry for going on like that."

"I don't mind at all," Ren promised. "It was nice to meet you, Suzui." He paused, then decided to add: "If you ever want to talk to someone…"

Her smile was as sad as could be. "Thank you, but I'll be fine."

* * *

He was walking through the train station, when he heard a familiar voice.

"Will you please give it a rest? I told you, I'm not feeling up to it." Takamaki was right there, and on her phone, expression somewhere between panicked and annoyed. As the voice on the other end spoke, the panic became more and more prevalent. "Wait, what? That's not what you promised! And you call yourself a teacher!?"

Ren froze. He watched as Takamaki sunk to the ground, almost in tears. "Shiho's… starting position…"

Unable to think of anything to say, Ren cleared his throat. "Are you alright?" Which was a stupid question, in hindsight, but it was the only thing he could think of.

Takamaki shot to her feet. "Hey, were you listening to me? Didn't anyone ever tell you not to eavesdrop?"

"Sorry," Ren gave a hapless shrug. "But you sounded so panicked… I couldn't help it. Are you okay? Is Suzui okay?"

Takamaki frowned. "You know Shiho?"

"We just ran into each other," Ren admitted. "But she mentioned that there were rumors about you due to your looks and parentage." Takamaki opened her mouth, but Ren pressed on. "I don't put any stock on that. I'm part Britannian too." Takamaki's eyes widened. "I just thought, if you needed someone to talk to, I wouldn't mind listening."

Takamaki stared at him for a moment longer, before giving him a small smile. "You're pretty weird, you know that? But I guess you did stand up for me before, against Kamoshida, and Shiho likes you… it would be nice to talk to someone. But somewhere more private." She led him away from the station, and to a small dinner just around the block.

They took a seat and got their drinks. Takamaki refused to meet his eyes. "It was just an argument."

Ren raised an eyebrow. "Really? Pretty bad argument." Ann shifted uncomfortably, leaning forward to rest her head of her hand.

"You've heard the rumors, haven't you?" She said. "About Mr. Kamoshida. Everyone says we're getting it on, but that's so not true!" She crushed a napkin in her palm. "He told me to go to his place after this. You know what it means. I avoided giving him my number for the longest time…" She leaned back in her seat, angry tears forming in her eyes. "He says if I don't go, he'll take Shiho off as a regular on the team. I've been telling myself this is all for Shiho's sake…" The tears started falling. "I've had enough of this, I hate him! But still, Shiho's my best friend. She's all I have left at that sorry excuse of a school! I don't know what to do."

For a moment, Ren was rendered speechless. He knew just how bad Kamoshida was, of course, but every time he thought he'd seen the worst of the man, something even more horrible, like this, turned up. Even if he'd just met them, he ached for Takamaki and Suzui.

"Would Suzui want you to go to his place for her?" He said, when he'd finally found his voice. Takamaki's eyes shot open. "I don't know her as well as you, obviously, but she doesn't seem like the kind of person who would want that. I think she'd rather you be safe."

"Yeah, you're right. That does sound like her," Takamaki admitted softly. "She'd be pissed if she found out I was just dealing with Kamoshida for her."

"Then don't go," Ren urged. "Talk to her, if you want. But don't give in to his demands. You're worth more than that. You don't have to sacrifice yourself like this."

"I-" She seemed to consider. "You're right. Thank you, Amamiya."

Ren gave her a small smile. "No problem. And Ren's fine."

"Then I guess you can call me Ann." Ann smiled back, eyes still watery. "Why am I even telling you all this? I've barely even talked to you before, even if it feels like-" She paused. "Um, never mind."

"Maybe that's why?" Ren suggested. "Maybe sometimes it's nice to unload on someone who doesn't know anything about you."

"Yeah, you're probably right," she agreed, sinking back in her chair. "You're not like the rumors say at all, are you? You just don't seem like it."

"Oh no, I'm bad to the bone," Ren deadpanned. Ann chuckled.

"I had the feeling they were just rumors," she admitted. "You seemed lonely. Almost like you didn't belong anywhere. We're the same in that regard. Maybe that was why it was so easy for me to talk to you." She stood up. "I'm going to call Shiho, and go right home. Don't tell anyone what I told you, okay?"

"I promise." Ren stood up as well. He and Ryuji would be back at the drawing board tomorrow, but at least for tonight, he felt like he had accomplished something.

* * *

"So I assume you all know about the separation of powers?" Ushimaru droned. Ren blocked him out as he went on about things he already knew, peppered with insults about "today's society".

"Have you made up your mind?" Ren nearly jumped, looking down in shock at Morgana, who was curled up comfortably in his desk. "No matter how much thinking you do, there's only one option. You're better off just listening to me."

"How did you get there?" Ren hissed. "No, nevermind, keep your voice down!"

"Hm?" Ushimaru looked up. "Did I just hear a cat just now? Could that rumored cat be nearby? Settle down! We're in the middle of an important lecture!" Ren was sorely tempted to point out that the teacher was trying to tell what he assumed to be a normal cat to "settle down for a lecture", but decided against it.

"Hey, what's that?" Someone from the other side of the room called out.

"Enough!" Ushimaru snapped. "This is a classroom!"

"Wait… She's going to jump!"

Ren leapt out of his seat, and, along with the rest of his class, ran to the window in the hallway.

Suzui Shiho was there, standing on the edge of the rooftop. There was a moment where everyone held their breath, and Ren considered running to the roof to grab her.

And then she fell.

Screams erupted all around him, students and teachers alike panicking about what they had just seen.

"Shiho!" Ann shoved Ren to the side as she raced towards the courtyard. Ren locked eyes with Ryuji, who had just run up to them, and in a moment of silent agreement, they followed her, pushing past masses of students until they finally made it outside. Where an ambulance had already pulled up for a thankfully alive, but unconscious, Suzui.

Teachers were trying to get everyone back to class, and student had their _phones_ out and were _fucking recording_ the girl lying on the ground, with her legs bent at unatural angles. Ann ran to Suzui's side, dropping to her knees.

"What the hell is wrong with these people?" Ryuji muttered, voice filled with shock.

"We need someone to go with her!" One of the emergency workers called.

"I-I'm not in charge of her class though," One of the teachers stuttered.

"We should leave this to principal Kobayakawa," Another said.

"I'll go!" Ann insisted. She boarded the ambulance with Suzui, and they all watched it leave.

Ren stared at the scene. Just yesterday, he had talked to Suzui. She had encouraged him not to let the rumors get to him, he had asked her if she needed to talk, and now she was on the ground _oh god_-

Kamoshida had wanted Ann to sleep with him, threatening Suzui. Ann had said no.

The burning anger was back, and Arsene was making it worse - and Ren let it happen.

A shifting movement caught his attention, and he turned to see Mishima running away from the scene. Ryuji seemed to notice as well. "Hey, wasn't Mishima acting weird?" The blond pointed out.

"He knows something," Ren agreed. They followed Mishima back into the school, eventually cornering him by some of the lockers.

"H-Hey? What are you doing?" Mishima's eyes flickered from Ren to Ryuji and back again.

Ryuji tapped his foot impatiently. "Why'd you run like that, huh?" Mishima refused to meet their eyes.

"I didn't run," he said, curling in on himself.

Ryuji seemed to have had enough, slamming his hand against one of the lockers. "She jumped and tried to kill herself!" His voice cracked from the raw emotion.

Ren put a hand on his arm and took a deep breath. As angry and frustrated as he was, yelling was getting them nowhere. "Listen." He tried to make his voice as soft as possible. "We just want to know what's going on. We won't say you told us. But Suzui almost died today. We need to know."

Mishima glanced up at him, as if trying to figure out whether he was telling the truth or not. Eventually he relented. "S-She was called out by Kamoshida-sensei."

"Wait, what?" Ryuji yelped.

"I was called by him a number of times too, to the teacher's room," Mishima admitted. "It wasn't just me or Suzui either. He'd nominate someone when he was in a bad mood, and hit them. But he called Suzui out of the blue. She didn't do anything wrong! Kamoshida-sensei was in a really bad mood, so it must've been… worse than usual."

_Kamoshida wanted Ann to sleep with him, and threatened Suzui if she said no._

"He didn't…" Ryuji breathed. "That son of a bitch!" Ryuji ran towards the teacher's office, and Ren chased after him, Mishima not far behind. They caught up with him just as he entered Kamoshida's office.

Kamoshida seemed to be doing work, with not a care in the world about his student's near death. He looked up at them, seeming more irritated than anything else. "Hm?"

"You bastard!" Ryuji yelled. "What the hell did you do to that girl!?"

Kamoshida raised an eyebrow at him. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Ryuji kicked a chair over in anger, and Mishima flinched. "Don't play dumb! We know she was called here by you before she jumped! What the hell did you do?"

"What you did…" Mishima whispered. "It wasn't coaching. That _wasn't_ coaching." Ren looked at him, surprised. Mishima looked terrified, but there was determination in his face as well.

There was something wicked in Kamoshida's smile. "You're going on and on about things you have no proof of. You're just making these claims because you're mad that you aren't a regular on the team, isn't that right?"

"That's not what this is about!" Mishima's voice grew stronger. "You told me to bring her here. I can only imagine what you did to her."

"Even if it is exactly as you think it is, hypothetically speaking, what can you do?" Kamoshida's eyes glinted. "Suzui's in a coma, and her chances of recovery are slim." Ren's stomach dropped. "How would someone like that make a statement?" He put a hand to his forehead dramatically. "There's no chance of her getting better I hear. The poor girl."

"No." Mishima shook. "That can't be."

Ryuji clenched his fists. "You goddamn….!" He made to punch the teacher, but Ren grabbed his arm before he could.

"Not here," he muttered through clenched teeth. "We can't stop this here." Ryuji looked at him, wide eyed. Ren could feel himself shaking, aching to punch Kamoshida like Ryuji was trying to.

_Later. There's a better way, a more efficient way, to get revenge._

"Oh, are you stopping him?" Kamoshida opened his arms. "No, go on, why not attack me? Oh, that's right, you can't. Of course you can't." His smirk turned to a scowl. "Everyone present right now will be expelled. I'm reporting you all to the next board meeting."

Ren choked. Ryuji took an involuntary step back.

"You can't make a decision like that!" Mishima protested.

Kamoshida was casual in his response. "Who would seriously consider what scum like you say? You threatened me too, Mishima, so you're just as responsible." He sneered. "To think, you didn't know why I kept someone as talentless as you on the team. You act like you're a victim, but you leaked his criminal records, didn't you?"

Ren stared at him.

Ryuji's voice was quiet, disbelieving. "Mishima…?"

Mishima sunk to the floor as Kamoshida cackled. "He made me do it, I didn't have a choice. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't have a choice!"

Ren looked down on him. With all the burning anger he always had. He'd have thought that he'd be angry. But… all Ren could feel was pity. It was obvious that Mishima was just as much of a victim as anyone else, and Ren couldn't bring himself to muster up any sort of anger towards him.

Besides, Kamoshida had probably revealed that fact as a divide and conquer tactic more than anything else. Ren would be playing right into his hands if he got angry.

"It's okay," he said instead. "You didn't have a choice. Besides," he glared at Kamoshida. "We all know who's really to blame."

Kamoshida scowled. "Get out of my sight you three. Your futures are mine to take."

"I can't believe that asshole's getting away with this," Ryuji growled.

"He's not," Ren corrected quietly. "He'll eat his words."

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Morgana asked them, as they stood in a corner of the courtyard. "You know the risks. You know he could die."

"...Yeah. But someone almost died because of him. I don't give a rats ass what happens to him anymore," Ryuji's voice was low and steely. "We need to take this bastard down."

"Those who kill should be prepared to be killed," Ren added. They both looked at him in surprise, and he shrugged. "Kamoshida showed no qualms or remorse about driving Suzui to suicide. If he's so blase about death, then he has what could be coming to him."

"Hey." Ren looked to see Ann behind them. "There you two are. I was looking for you."

Ren frowned. "How is Suzui?"

"She's in a coma." Ann looked at the ground. "They - they don't know when or if she'll wake up. Listen. If you're going after Kamoshida…" She looked up, and there was fire in her eyes. "Let me in on it too."

"Okay," Ren agreed.

Ryuji blanched. "Seriously? Just like that? Isn't that dangerous?"

"After what Kamoshida did to her friend? She deserves to come along. We didn't have our powers when we first entered the castle, remember? And we can make sure she doesn't get too hurt."

"I'm all for it!" Morgana piped up.

"Course you're for it," Ryuji quipped. "Yeah yeah, fine. I see I'm outnumbered. Welcome to the team."

"Thanks." The Ann frowned. "What did you mean by powers?"

* * *

"The school turned into a _castle!_ Who is that weird cat? What are you wearing!?"

"Yeah, we know. You get used to it."

* * *

"Is that a yellow-eyed Kamoshida in his underwear?"

"Ugh, yeah. It's gross, we know. Too bad we can't beat the shit out of him yet."

* * *

"Did you just talk to that pixie and absorb it? And make it some sort of new power?"

"...That's a new one, actually."

* * *

They moved throughout the castle, avoiding and ambusing guards whenever possible. In addition to Arsene, Ren could now feel the present, although admittedly smaller, presences of Pixie, bicorn, and Jack-o-Lantern, three new personas, at his disposal.

They enter a new room, and Ryuji, who is in the lead at the moment, stiffens in horror. Ren walks into the room and sees why.

The room is some creepy sort of shrine with all sorts of horrible pictures of Suzui on it, filling up the entire room. Ann takes a few steps forward and sinks to her knees.

"God, is this how he sees, is this really…" Her eyes burned. "That bastard!"

"Oh, her?" They turn around, and Kamoshida's shadow is there, backed by quite a few guards. "Oh, I'm over her now. Should really take this room down. What was her name again?" His grin widened. "Not that it matters. But it was your fault she jumped you know."

Ann flinched.

Kamoshida continued, seeming to savor her agony. "That's right. You were so reluctant to throw yourself on me, I had her take your place." The guards filled the room. "Really, this is what you deserve."

"Ann, you gotta move!" Ryuji snapped. Ann stood frozen in place.

"Shiho," Ann gasped for breath, as though Kamoshida had said what she was already thinking. "Shiho, did I do that to her? I didn't, I thought, Shiho I-I'm so sorry…"

"It's not your fault!" Ren snapped. "The only one at fault is him! He did this to Shiho, and to you. You both deserve so much more than this. We're not going to put up with it, and you don't have to either. Fight back!"

Ann paused, but then- "You're right. Letting this piece of shit toy with me… what was I thinking?" She rose to her feet. You're going to _pay_, you piece of _shit!_"

Her eyes turned yellow, and she yelled in pain. Sensing what was coming, Ren and Morgana moved in front of her, to make sure the shadows didn't attack her when she was down. A red cat mask appeared on her face, and she ripped it off, sending the shadows flying back, and destroying Kamoshida's entire creepy shrine.

The light cleared, and Ann was dressed in a bright red Knightmare pilot outfit, with a dark pink and red persona in a revealing dress with a cigar and two men on leashes hovering over her. The persona opened her hands, and a fire lit in them as Ann summoned a whip from out of the air.

"You know what?" She hissed. "I'm not just so cheap girl you can toy with, you scumbag."

"Bitch," Kamoshida shot back. Ann paid no attention. Ren, Ryuji, and Morgana ran to her side as the guards rose in front of Kamoshida.

"You stole everything from Shiho. You destroyed her. Now it's your turn! I will rob you of everything!" Ann unveiled her whip with a crack. "Let's go, Carmen!"

* * *

Ryuji bought them all drinks at the train station, and they sat down away from the crowds to enjoy them and talk about what had just happened.

"I still can't believe this is real." Ann nursed her drink. "But I can feel Carmen, burning inside me. Her power, her strength… is it really mine?"

"Persona's are a part of your heart, Lady Ann," Morgana assured her. "All of that strength she has? It all comes from you." Ann smiled gratefully.

"Yeah, that was pretty kickass!" Ryuji agreed. "And so was that suit! Although I almost feel like I've seen it before."

"Um, yeah." Ann blushed. "If these are some sort of magic outfits that suit us or something, I think maybe I modeled mine after Kallen Kozuki? I mean, if we have some sort of choice in their design."

Ren frowned in thought. "Kallen Kozuki? You mean the ace knightmare pilot with the Black Knights?"

"What other Kallen Kozuki is a famous knightmare pilot?" Ryuji pointed out. Ren rolled his eyes at him.

"Yeah, that's her!" Ann brightened. "She's kind of my hero. She's mixed blood like me, but she never let people put her down for it! She stood up and fought for what's right, and helped free Japan! When I was a little girl, I always wanted to be like her."

"Maybe our outfits show what we think rebellion means?" Ren suggested. "You have an outfit like the rebel knightmare pilot you admire, Ryuji's outfit makes him look like a thug-"

"Hey!"

"-And mine is some sort of gentleman thief," Ren continued. "It's just a hypothesis, but it would make sense."

"I think that's right, but I don't know for sure." Morgana leapt up onto the table. "But speaking of the Black Knights, there's something their leader did, that I think we should do as well. Zero obviously wasn't his real name. I think we should all have code names too. Who knows if saying our names continuously in the metaverse has repercussions or not."

"That sounds like a cool idea!" Ann agreed. "Hmmm… maybe I could be Panther? Like my cat mask."

"It works for someone as fierce as you!" Morgana said, a little too quickly.

"Neat! If we're going by masks, then I'll be Skull," Ryuji decided. "And Morgana can be Mona!"

"I guess," Morgana sighed. "Then Ren can be Joker!"

Ren blinked. "Joker? Why?"

"Don't you know what the Joker card means?" Morgana flicked his tail excitedly. "It can either be the biggest asset in the game, or someone's downfall. I think, with your special ability to acquire multiple personas, the name suits you well."

"Joker," Ren tested the word on his tongue. "I can work with that."

"Glad that's decided." Ann took a long sip of her drink. "Now that we have this power, Kamoshida is going to pay for what he did to Shiho. For what he did to everyone." She looked up at them. "You don't mind me joining for good, do you?"

"Course not, you're a really good fighter!"

"We'd love to have you on the team, Lady Ann!"

"If anyone deserves to get their revenge on Kamoshida, then it's you."

Ann beamed. "Good, because I would've gone in by myself if you had said no. I'm glad to me working with you guys! Let's take down that bastard and bring him to justice!"

_I am Thou, Thou art I, Thou hast acquired a new vow. _

_It shall become the wings of rebellion, that breaketh thy chains of captivity. _

_With the birth of the Lovers Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power._

There was something resonating within him, just like with Ryuji, as well as the new one he had with Igor. Ren could wonder what was to come of this new confidant.

Strangely enough, there was something stronger with Ann. A sense of familiarity he'd felt with her before, but never quite understood.

Ren caught another glimpse of the green haired woman as they all traded numbers, and he felt a prick of annoyance. It was obvious she was following him, but why?

If she ever showed her face for more than a second, maybe he'd get to find out.

* * *

**Reviews to Comments:**

**Kerrowe: Yeah, it is a bit of a slow start, even if I'm moving towards the meat of the story as fast as I can. Gotta have that buildup! I'm glad you like what you've read, and don't worry, Dojima and Nanako will definitely be making appearances throughout the story. They're not main characters, but they will be showing up at times.**

**warrior of six blades: Ren's definitely handling it well, considering. Like you said, he is Lelouch, he's still got those smarts, and he's gonna be using them. Ryuji does have a lot in common with Takami, although I'll admit that while Takami doesn't do much for me either way, Ryuji is one of my favorites. Still, I think the reason Ren bonded with him so quickly is Ryuji has a sort of sencerity he's rarely found in this life, as well as someone who immideately shares his new double life with him. He doesn't feel like there's any secrets he would need to keep from him (yet).**

**AMATAROU: You're absolutely right, characters from Code Geass reincarnating with each other could turn out to be a _ really_ messy business. Can the power of friendship surpass some of the terrible deeds characters like Lelouch have committed, especially since none of them know about the Zero Requium? But this is also Persona, and the power of friendship is a strong power indeed, which means we'll have to wait and see. And of course, C.C and others are still out there, and they have no intention of just letting things run their canon course... **


	4. Chapter 4

**And we're back with another chapter! I'm so glad a lot of people have liked it so far! I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

The first thing Ren noticed as he entered the cafe, Morgana situated in his bag, was the new customer at one of the booths. She was maybe in her early twenties, with short black hair, a leather jacket, and multiple necklaces, one of which being a spiked choke collar. Compared to the usual customers of Sojiro that Ren had seen so far, she stood out like a sore thumb.

The woman seemed to notice his gaze and looked up, sharp brown eyes meeting grey ones. "Hm?"

Sojiro noticed immediately. "Hey, lay off the customers!" Ren resisted the urge to snap back, reminding himself to keep his manners in front of this stranger. "Sorry if he was rude, Doctor."

"...I don't mind." The doctor shrugged. "All he did was look over briefly, after all. No harm done."

Still, Sojiro wasn't pleased. "Come on, you're getting in the way. Go on upstairs." Ren sighed and did so, briefly glancing at his bag to make sure Morgana was still laying low in there. He set the bag down on his bed, and Morgana jumped out of it.

"Who was that woman?" The cat wondered.

"Not sure." The doorbell chimed, signaling that the doctor had left, and Ren headed back downstairs.

Sojiro caught his questioning gaze, and for once, decided to humor him. "She's the head doctor over at that clinic down the street. Rumor has it she gives pretty crappy examinations, and sells some weird homemade medicines on top of that. At least, that's what I've heard. Haven't been there myself." He shrugged his shoulders. "They should really just leave her alone. It's not like she's getting in the way of their lives."

"For once, I agree." But Ren's mind was turning. There was always a chance that they would need more healing in the metaverse than what their personas could provide. Morgana and Ann knew healing spells, and so did one of his three new personas, Pixie, but Ren couldn't count out the possibility of a scenario where they couldn't use their personas. If this doctor didn't ask questions…

Sojiro rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever. I should be getting home."

* * *

Morgana was waiting for him upstairs. "What is this place? It looks like some kind of abandoned house."

"No, just a dirty store attic." Ren sighed and sat down on the bed next to Morgana. "You get used to it."

"_How?_" Was the skeptical response. _Good question. I'm still trying to figure that out._

"Time, I guess." He should really clean up the rest of this place. He had been meaning to, but with everything going on, making his new room cleaner had been pushed to the wayside.

"Hey, are you-?" Sojiro's words cut off, and Ren shot to his feet in a mild panic. "Oh, I was wondering why I heard meowing. What did you bring it here for!?"

"He's a he," Ren corrected, trying to keep the irritation from his face. _I swear, if Sojiro kicks out Morgana…_ "He didn't have anywhere else to go."

Something softened in Sojiro's eyes. "Nowhere, huh? Look, this place is a restaurant. Animals are a no-go." Even as he said this, Ren could see his resolve wavering. "Although, I guess you might stay on good behavior if you have a pet to take care of."

"You won't have to do anything," Ren promised. "Believe it or not, I've taken care of cats before. I know how to care for one." Morgana looked up at him curiously.

"...Fine," Sojiro relented. "But keep him quiet when we're open, and don't let him roam downstairs, or I'll toss him out." With that, he left the room.

"He won't have to worry about me." Morgana licked his paw. "I'm not actually a cat, I know how to behave myself." He stretched out on Ren's bed. "Was that the ruler of this place? He seemed pretty understanding, for someone who put you in this dump."

"That's one way to put it." Ren sighed. "Technically he's my guardian at the moment. I'm pretty sure he likes you far more than he does me already."

Sure enough, Sojiro came up moments later, carrying a plate of food. "Seriously, it just had to keep calling out in that cute little voice." He turned to Ren. "Make sure you wash that dish. By the way, have you decided on a name?"

It was the calmest conversation they'd had since Ren got here, so he bit back his own remarks. "His name's Morgana." He took in Sojiro's surprise. "Not what you were expecting, I know, but I think it fits."

"Yeah sure." Sojiro looked a little downcast. "I was just… hoping I'd get to name it."

"Tough luck, sorry." Ren smirked lightly, and Sojiro just rolled his eyes before heading downstairs.

"Looks like the chief likes me better than you," Morgana purred.

"That's not even a question." Still, at the very least this just now proved they could hold a couple minute conversation without getting on each other's nerves. That was something, at least.

But there was something about how Morgana was acting that bothered him. Something about his light words sounded just a bit forced. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Morgana startled and looked away from the food and up at him. "Of course I am. Why would you ask?" Still, the light slipped a little from his eyes, and he looked away again. "...Remember before, when you guys asked me about what I am? To be totally honest, I don't remember anything about my birth. I think the metaverse's distortions made me lose my true form and my memories."

Ren… couldn't help but doubt that. Wasn't a persona supposed to protect people from the distortions? Going along that line of thought, Morgana shouldn't have been distorted in the first place. The idea of him losing both his memories and his human form just sounded too out there to be true, at least when the alternative of him being a being of the metaverse itself made much more sense.

Ren had the common sense not to tell Morgana that though. He couldn't imagine that conversation ending well, nor did he want to create tension in their new partnership.

"If that's the case, we'll help you figure out what happened," he said instead. "I'm guessing purging the distortion would fix your form. That's why you were snooping around the castle, right?"

"Exactly." Morgana nodded. "You're a really smart guy, you know. Oh, and don't worry, you won't take care of me for nothing. It'll be give and take. I've got lots of information on both the metaverse, and on infiltration tools. I can teach you what I know, if you agree to let me stay here until we're done."

"It's a deal." Although Ren did have to wonder where that knowledge came from, if Morgana's memories were missing. It seemed awfully convenient. At the very least, he could use that knowledge to his advantage.

...And he finally got to take a cat home, even if it was a talking one. That was a bonus he really couldn't deny.

_I am Thou, Thou art I, Thou hast acquired a new vow. _

_It shall become the wings of rebellion, that breaketh thy chains of captivity. _

_With the birth of the Magician Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power._

* * *

They couldn't go back into the palace just yet, of course. There was preparation to be done. Morgana had the same idea as Ren, visiting the young doctor at her clinic, and so the next day after school, they head on over to where Ren remembered the clinic being, heading through the bright green doors.

The inside did look like a clinic at least, if a little run down. The doctor sat behind a window, watching them enter with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll admit, I didn't expect to see you again, much less so soon." She leaned forward in her seat. "Is there something I can help with?"

"I'm from way out in the country, and I just moved here," Ren explained, keeping his real emotions from his face. "I have medication prescribed from a doctor there, but it's been so long since I last had to go there, and I forgot to bring my meds with me. You're the closest doctor to where I live now, and I was hoping you might have something that could help?"

The doctor studied his face, and let out a long sigh. "I might. Follow me into the exam room." She led him to a separate room, and had him sit down on a stool. Ren went through his story, memorizing all the important details for future reference, and making sure to keep things vague enough that the medicines the doctor would prescribe would be ones to help recover health.

She looked him over, as though trying to poke holes in his story. Still, she gave a shrug, as though his tale had checked out. She was sharp though, so Ren figured he'd need to tread lightly.

"I see. You should know, this is my private practice, and all the medicine I disperse is original. I have a license to make my own formulas. You've probably seen them being sold at various hospitals. I'm not your main doctor by any means, so it's your responsibility to look after yourself, alright?"

"Thank you, that'll really help," he told her honestly. She pulled out the list of medicines, and he looked through them, choosing what seemed like it would be the most helpful.

As he was leaving, an older man stormed into her examination room, and Ren couldn't help but overhear them through the door.

"What's the reason for your visit? Do you have a cold? Stomach Ache? Flu? Whatever it is, you'll need to take a number."

"Enough of this!" The man cut in harshly. "You're the only one who could've developed that type of medicine."

The doctor's reply was short. "I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb with me. Rumor has it, it's a drug so potent it could give a person unlimited power." _Seriously?_ Could something like that exist? And if it did, it was obvious this man shouldn't have it. But if it could be used in the metaverse, that might be a huge boon for them. Assuming it was real, of course.

"Really? That's news to me."

"Developing experimental drugs, medicines, and herbal remedies violates all health regulations," the man threatened. "Are you trying to create a super stimulant? A drug like that will only become a social issue." And on and on he went, pressing her again and again. Ren could feel the fire flaring up a bit at the man's annoying voice, but he knew nothing he said would change anything. If anything, he could just get in more hot water, and he needed to focus on taking out Kamoshida before defying the law again.

"The name Tae Takemi will never- hey, is somebody there?"

Ren made himself scarce.

* * *

_Untouchable_ was an airsoft shop in a back alley of Shibuya. It certainly had the atmosphere of somewhere a bit outside of the law, and the man with a gecko tattoo manning the counter, introduced by Ryuji as Iwai, only added to the feeling.

Still, almost all of the model guns in the shop looked extremely realistic, and therefore perfect for the metaverse.

They approached Iwai, and he looked up from his magazine. "Picked out anything yet?"

"Um, we were hoping for recommendations?" Ryuji winced lightly, clearly a little bit unnerved.

Iwai shrugged. "I dunno, just buy whatever looks interesting to you."

Ryuji's unease seemed to fade a bit, because he groaned. "Geez, some customer service."

Iwai looked as though he would rather just have them leave, but he did take his attention off his reading material and onto them. "Fine, whaddya want? An automatic? A revolver?"

"I'm interested in handguns, personally," Ren admitted. "But in general, we want things that look real." He'd tried using a handgun once before, with Dojima, and found he was rather good at it.

A small smirk played at Iwai's lips. "You two planning a big bank robbery or something?" Ryuji threw his hands up in protest.

"N-No way! We just like the look and feel of it is all." Iwai chuckled.

"Anyways, you should've said before that you two were enthusiasts. I'm always up for helpin' fresh faces. Just don't go around pointing them at people. Keep them in a bag if you're outside. Oh, and don't let the fuzz catch wind of you having them. I don't need them coming around here."

"You won't need to worry about that," Ren offered. "We hate the cops."

Iwai looked more comfortable at that. "Well how about that? Me too." And with that, he went back to bring out some of the model guns.

As he mentioned before, Ren chose one of the handguns, turning it over and deciding quickly it was what he wanted to buy. After a bit of deliberation, Ryuji decided on a shotgun, and after letting Ann know her different options through texts, chose a semi-automatic.

Already, he felt a lot more prepared.

* * *

"Careful, you don't want to break it."

"I know." Ren twisted the metal in his hands, and his newest lockpick slowly took shape. As good as it was to learn how to make all these different infiltration tools, strangely, it helped him focus his mind as well.

And he had a lot to think about. He'd made another one of those Confidants today, with Takemi. He wasn't so sure how smart of an idea doing clinical trials with someone who had the Death arcana was, but they needed the extra available medicine. And the money to buy it. As soon as he had enough time to focus on anything other than this palace, he was going to get at least one job.

Tomorrow, they would be going back into the metaverse, the first time since Ann awakened to her persona three days ago. It was time well spent, but now they only had eleven days until his, Ryuji's, and Mishima's expulsion, and Ren refused to cut it close to the deadline. They needed Kamoshida's heart changed as soon as possible.

He had nowhere to go if they failed. And Kamoshida would get away with all his horrible crimes.

"_As long as you don't get too impatient. Rushing to your death won't help you or your companions._"

_Shut up Arsene._ His persona had a point though. As eager as he was to get this over with and bring the bastard to his knees, they couldn't help anyone if they died there. Ren let out a small breath. He would finish as many tools as he could today, and they would explore as much of the palace as possible tomorrow. After that, they would proceed with the information they had.

He could feel Arsene's approval at this course of action, which was something, at least.

"Hey, are you listening to me?"

Ren shook his head. "Sorry Morgana. You were going to show me how to make a Goho-M next, right?"

"That's right." The cat huffed. "Pay attention next time, geez."

"Of course, of course."

* * *

They headed into the palace again, as agreed, but before they could go anywhere, Joker spotted the tell-tale blue of the velvet room that had been haunting his dreams. Justine stood outside, looking at him with little emotion.

"Our master wants a word with you," she said.

"Joker?" He turned around to see Panther, Skull, and Mona looking at him curiously. "What is it?"

If they had to ask that question, then there was a very good chance they didn't see the blue prison door and the small slightly-inhuman girl standing in front of him. "You know how I can use four personas instead of one?" He offered. They nodded. "I think it has something to do with that. It's a bit hard to explain, but I'll be right back, hopefully with something that could help us."

"Okay." Panther sounded a bit nervous. "Just be careful, alright?"

"I will." At Justine's direction, he followed her into the strange room. Immediately, he was back in his prison garb and in his cell, Igor smiling at him from the center of the room. Justine, despite having gone through the door after him, was on the other side of his cell bars.

"The prisoner has returned," Caroline announced loudly.

Ren winced. "You don't need to shout, you know. Everyone here can hear you."

"S-Shut up!" She smacked her baton against the cell bars. "You're just a lowly prisoner. Who cares what you think?"

"It might be harder for me to be "rehabilitated" if I can't hear anything thanks to you," he reasoned, taking a bit of pleasure in her horrified look and Justine's chastising glance. He supposed he could get used to her antics, if only she toned them down a bit. As it was, he couldn't help but like her twin better.

Igor chuckled at their banter. "It seems you have taken to the idea of your rehabilitation well. Most excellent. It shall be even more rewarding to help you along your journey then."

Truth be told, Ren wasn't so sure. Maybe it was just the inhuman nature of the velvet room and its master, but something about Igor put him on edge, even moreso than the twins. "Sure. But you still haven't told me much about it. I doubt you're talking about my assault record."

"I am not, to be sure." Amusement glimmered in Igor's eyes. "I am not attempting to withhold anything from you, trickster. When the time comes, as you gather more allies, strengthen your bonds, and discover your powers, everything will be revealed. All in due time."

Mysterious and reasonable. Even so, Ren had never been one to enjoy waiting. Still, whatever Igor was, he was obviously beyond powerful, and Ren wasn't too interested in angering his mysterious benefactor, at least until he knew more. So he kept his opinions to himself.

"Speaking of, I've called you here to explain one of your abilities to you, and how the velvet room can assist in the development of this power. As a Wild Card, you have the unique ability to carry multiple personas within you. By fusing those personas together here in the velvet room, you can create even more to help further your goals."

"Sounds useful." _But by fusing them…_ "I would have to give up the two original personas to make the new one though, right?" He was glad he'd already picked up three personas, because he didn't want to get rid of Arsene anytime soon.

"_Not to worry. I will not be gotten rid of easily, I can promise you that._"

"Only for a short time," Igor assured him. "You can recall any of your previous personas using the compendium Caroline and Justine have."

A small relief at least. "Then I'd like to fuse Jack-o-Lantern and Pixie, then recall them."

He wasn't sure what he expected fusion to entail. Having the twins force his personas under the guillotine and "murder" them certainly wasn't it.

And the Persona he got from that…

"_I'm Incubus! Now that you've got me within your mask, you're never going to get a wink of sleep again!_"

"Can I do another fusion?"

He exited the velvet room with a new persona, as well as a strange gift from Igor. _Third eye_. He wondered what he would see if he used it.

"_Forgive me, but I hope you won't throw me away as easily as you did Incubus, and then succubus,_" Saki Mitama murmured in his ear.

"_With any luck, I won't have to,"_ he told his new persona lightly. Saki Mitama was equipped with what seemed to be ice spells, something the team lacked thus far. Not to mention the Life Drain he had carried over from Incubus could certainly come in handy.

His teammates were staring at him. "You alright man?" Skull asked. "You said you were doing something important, but you just kind of zoned out for a second."

"Is that what it looked like?" Joker wondered out loud. "Hm. I'll explain it later, once we're done exploring the palace for today."

"Good. We really need to get going." With Mona's insistence, they were off.

* * *

The Third Eye did indeed end up coming in handy, for both figuring out where little valuables were stored, as well as correctly undoing a trap in a room that allowed the group to get part of a map. This time around, Joker made an effort to get as many personas as he could. He would try some fusions in the velvet room later.

In their efforts to explore more of the castle, they found themselves inside a small library. "Well this looks awfully suspicious," Mona remarked.

Skull frowned. "It's a library, how could it be suspicious?"

Panther punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Haven't you seen any movies before? Libraries like these always have secret passages."

"And this place already has vents large enough for us to crawl through," Joker agreed, thinking of their earlier experiences. "It's safe to assume that more troupes will apply as well." It made sense. Since this was someone's cognition, and not the real world, of course they would imagine that vents could be crawled through, and that libraries had secret entrances.

Considering the books that had stood out to him through the third eye, he had a pretty good idea of what to do.

"Hey, this wall's covered in books with the names of the boys on the volleyball team!" Skull called out. "Oh, and me? Sakamoto Ryuji: the Vulgar Ape. Asshole. Who does he think he is?" Even though his words were light, there was something pained in Skull's eyes.

"Who cares?" Joker told him, inserting the _Slave's Book_ onto the shelf. He's a monster, of course he'll have bad opinions."

Skull turned and gave him a small smile. "Thanks man."

"This one's got names of different female girls at our school." Panther scowled. "That pig." She slammed the _Queen's Book_ into the shelf with as much force as she could muster.

"And this one's all about Kamoshida. Definitely fits the pattern." Mona put in the last book, and the last shelf slid open.

Joker looked in and shuddered, the anger burning in his chest. Another room filled with pictures of Suzui, this time with photos of Ann sprinkled in. On the floor was the second half of the map, and on the shelf was a medal.

He turned to Panther. "Are you going to be alright?"

She hesitated, then nodded, eyes blazing. "We'll make him pay for sure." They all studied the map. "Mona, do you think you know where the treasure is?"

"Yeah." Mona pointed to an odd shaped part of the map. "It should be here in this tower. I'd say we're about halfway there now."

"We should stop for today," Joker decided. At their surprised looks, he hastened to explain. "We've already used up a lot of our energy, and I'm sure it'll only be harder from here. We'll rest up, then come back in another two days to finish this place." He looked up. "Is that alright with everyone?"

"I wish we could keep going, but now that you mention it, I'm pooped," Skull admitted.

"Same here." Panther sighed. "It sucks, having to wait longer to take Kamoshida's treasure, but you're right. We need to be at our full strength when we do that."

"You've got good judgement." Mona smiled at him. "We'll follow your lead."

Those words made him feel warm, but also a bit nervous. His new team was trusting him, and he couldn't let them down.

...Strange. He was usually more confident than this. What was it about leading a team that made him feel uneasy?

* * *

Ann panted hard, leaning over with her hands on her knees. "How are you guys not dying yet?"

"I was a track star, remember?" Ryuji pointed out with a grin. "I mean, I'm totally out of shape now, but it's not like I've lost everything." He handed Ann a water bottle, which she gratefully took. "And I don't remember you exercising, like, ever."

"Yeah yeah." Ann leaned up against the wall Ren and Ryuji were sitting on. "Laugh it up. It's not like I need to work out to stay fit anyways. My metabolism does the workout for me." She peered up at Ren. "How about you? You kept up with Ryuji pretty well."

They were all in their gym uniforms, taking a breather outside of the school building. Ryuji had asked both of them if they wanted to spend the day building up strength for their next trip into the metaverse, and both had said yes, Ann with much more reluctance than Ren. (In fact, he suspected she just didn't want to be left out, and would've preferred not to go.)

Ren just shrugged lightly. "I took gymnastics and dance before I came here. I got kicked off of both teams when I got expelled of course, but that wasn't too long ago, so I haven't gotten rusty." He'd been using all his skills in the metaverse, after all. Morgana could joke about him being too extra all he wanted, but the thrill of leaping and flipping around the palace with the ease of a knife through butter thanks to their enhanced skills in that world was a feeling not easily matched.

Ann's eyes sparkled as she looked up at him. "That's so cool! It explains all your amazing moves in the metaverse. Could you teach me how to do that?"

"Hey, you can't learn how to flip around if a little running wipes you out!" Ryuji protested.

"It's true. Sorry," he added at her pout. "Maybe once you build up more stamina I'll teach you some things."

Ann looked torn, between being able to do all his cool tricks and not having to put in the strenuous effort required for it. "Well, okay. I guess I can do some more running. But only if you teach me your skills afterwards."

"It's a deal," Ren promised. He could almost sense Saki Mitama humming with approval.

"I wish I could learn that stuff too, but you know," Ryuji gestured to his bad leg. "I'll just settle for building up strength."

"I'm sorry." Ann looked at their blond friend softly. "I - I knew you were hurting, when Kamoshida broke your leg, but I was so caught up in my own problems I didn't do anything. Some friend I was."

"Hey, I could say the same," Ryuji pointed out. "I mean, you were dealing with him making moves on you, and I didn't even realize how bad it was until just recently. I'll be better from now on, I promise." He turned to Ren. "Same goes for you, Renren. If someone gives you any trouble, just tell me, and I've got your back!"

Ann grinned. "Me too! I'm never gonna just stand by while my friends get hurt again."

There was something warm and fuzzy in Ren's chest, something almost unfamiliar. He hadn't felt this way with anyone other than Nanako, and even then, it was different. These people, his _friends_, they had just openly declared their support for him and promised to be there for each other. And strangely enough, he knew he could believe them.

In only a couple weeks, he'd made three times as many friends as he'd had back in Inaba, including Morgana. It was a wonderful feeling, to be sure.

"That goes for me as well," he said. "If either of you need anything, I'll be there, I promise." Then Ryuji's words really sunk in, and he turned to the other boy in disbelief. "_Renren!? Really?_"

Ann giggled. "I dunno, I like it. Renren. It's cute!"

"No way. Absolutely not." What a dumb, embarrassing nickname. Hang on, was his face heating up? What was this?

Somewhere inside him, Saki Mitama laughed.

Still, as he turned to face Ryuji, that wistful look he was being given caught Ren off guard. Then again, it made perfect sense. Of course Ryuji would be feeling down about not being able to pull off cool stunts due to his leg.

"You know, you might not be able to flip around, but I can still show you some cool dance moves," he offered. "I took ballroom dancing, so you might feel a bit silly at first, but it's pretty fun."

Ryuji opened his mouth, then closed it again. "I'd like that a lot. Even if it is ballroom dancing." Ren wasn't sure if he imagined the wetness in his friend's eyes.

"Oh, I want to learn that one too! And I don't need more stamina for it, right?"

"Actually…" Ren smiled at Ann's groan and Ryuji's loud laughter, and he felt his Lovers and Chariot bonds growing stronger.

* * *

Thankfully, the rain started just as Ren was walking into LeBlanc, much to Morgana's relief. Sojiro briefly looked up from wiping down the counter, then looked down again and let out a long sigh.

"Listen, can we talk?" His guardian asked.

"Oh, you want to talk to me now?" The words were maybe more bitter than they had to be, but Ren was getting a little sick of being lectured at this point. "If you're just going to tell me about how I'll get thrown out if I cause you any trouble, and how I'm a problem kid even if I haven't done anything since getting here besides going to school and making some friends, then I'm not interested." Not the truth, of course, but it wasn't like Sojiro needed to know that.

Sojiro blinked at him, looking rather surprised. For once, the uninterested glint in his eye was gone. "I guess I really have drilled it into your head then." He finished cleaning and moved around the counter to stand closer to Ren. "At least there's that."

Ren scoffed. "You know, if you really do want to chat, can we get something clear? I want to know why, despite knowing the real reason I was put on probation was because I was defending someone from being assaulted, you still treat me like I'm some delinquent and never once gave me a chance."

Sojiro didn't answer for a long time, The two just stared at each other. "Listen, kid. You're a brat. You're sarcastic, and you seem to have an unhealthy tendency of biting the hand that feeds you. I got a warning from your parents about you before you even came here, telling me all about how to handle you. Sure, you haven't been as bad as they made you out to be, but you're sure as hell no sweetheart."

_Oh._ His parents. That made sense. Ren swallowed the bitter taste in his mouth. "As if they were ever around enough to get to know me," he spat, looking anywhere but the man in front of him.

"...Look, kid. I'm a busy man. I could use some help around the café." Ren looked over at Sojiro, surprised. The man's eyes were softer than they'd been before. "In return, I can teach you how to brew the perfect coffee. Sound like a deal?"

He'd essentially be working for free. And he was still waiting on a reply from that flower shop. But he did like the sound of being able to make coffee like Sojiro. And he knew a peace offering when he saw one.

"I'll take that deal." A small smile made its way onto Sojiro's face.

_I am Thou, Thou art I, Thou hast acquired a new vow. _

_It shall become the wings of rebellion, that breaketh thy chains of captivity. _

_With the birth of the Hierophant Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power._

Well. At least this was a big step up from open hostility.

Sojiro cleared his throat. "By the way, there was a woman asking about you earlier today. She had bright green hair like some Europeans and Brittanians do, and she called herself C.C. Do you know her?"

Ren froze. "C.C., you said?" He forced himself to relax. "I think I might. Weird name, right?"

At least now he had a name to his stalker's face.

"That's what I thought." Sojiro shook his head. His phone rang and he answered it, before quickly heading out of the café.

_C.C._ The name wasn't familiar, not really.

"_And yet, deep down, you feel you know it, do you not?_"

Sometimes, he really wished he'd fused Arsene.

* * *

There's something thrilling about scaling the side of a castle tower, red sky and far-to-big moon above them, avoiding and ambushing shadows while jumping from ledge to ledge, making their way closer and closer to the treasure.

"You know, no amount of training's ever gonna make us feel like this in the real world," Panther noted, as they each leapt over a gap that only an Olympic long jumper might be able to make. "If only we could bring these skills outside of the palace somehow."

"If anyone finds a way to do that, I'm all for it." Skull shook his leg a bit, then jogged to keep up with the rest of them. "It's not perfect, but it's not nearly as bad here." They slipped back into the castle through one of the windows.

Compared to the earlier rooms, the tower was a mess. Pieces of floor were rising out of the ground, and disgusting busts of women were scattered haphazardly around the room. It looked more out of some awful dream than the rest of the palace.

"The distortion is stronger here," Mona informed them. "We're getting close."

From there, it's a race to get to the top of the tower, using the moving parts of the floors for cover and picking their battles.

"Ugh, I hate this place soooo much." Panther shuddered as a large slimy monster crumpled into shadows in front of them.

"Hang in there, Panther," Mona said. "We're almost there."

The room at the top of the stairs was a familiar one. Joker instantly recognized it as the one from the map.

Sure enough, as they hid on the room's balcony, they could see Kamoshida standing in front of his throne, about six shadows in front of him.

"How have you not captured the intruders yet?" He snarled at his minions, yellow eyes glowing with displeasure.

Skull grinned. "And he doesn't even know we're here with him."

"Not a very competent king. Then again, who's surprised at that?" Mona smirked. "The treasures just up ahead. Let's sneak into the room before they realize we're here."

The room off the side of the throne room was darkly lit, and at the end of the short hall was a large ornate door. Skull paused in front of it. "That's gotta be it, right?"

As he said that, the doors opened on their own, revealing a room filled with large gold valuables, and, hovering above it all, a sort of glowing, translucent cloud.

Joker carefully approached the center of the room. "I'm guessing that cloud is the treasure, then? How exactly do we steal it?"

"Right on the money." Mona hopped onto one of the larger pieces of treasure to be closer to their height. "The thing is, it's not enough to find the treasure. We need to make it materialize. Most people don't think of their desires as physical objects, right? Well, if we make it so that Kamoshida thinks of his desire as something to be stolen, the treasure will take on a more physical form, and we can steal it!"

"So, we're sending a calling card, then?" Panther looked excited. "Just like real Phantom Thieves?"

"You got it, Lady Ann! But we need to be sure of what we're doing. The treasure will only materialize for about a day, and it won't work twice. Once we send it, we need to go steal Kamoshida's heart."

They all turned to look at Joker.

There was something uncomfortably familiar about people's expecting gazes on him, something that made him nervous. It was almost as though there was a little voice in his head telling him groups like this were dangerous, that they would turn on him if given the chance.

But that was ridiculous. He trusted these three, and they had proved more than worthy of that trust in the past few days.

Skull had been the first person to show him kindness since he arrived in Tokyo. In their first trip to Kamoshida's castle, he had been willing to give up his life so that Joker, a total stranger, could live. And since then, he'd been nothing but understanding, blowing off all the rumors and constantly having his back.

Panther knew what it was like to be judged for something she couldn't control, both from spread rumors about untrue activities, and from being part Brittanian. She was sweet, and funny, and Joker could never shake the feeling that she was _familiar_, that he could trust her.

And while Mona was mysterious and most likely not human, despite what he insisted, he'd only helped them so far, guiding them through the metaverse, and keeping Joker company outside of it.

"We're ready," He decided. "We'll send the calling card tomorrow, and head into the palace to steal it after school. Is everyone good with that?"

"Hell yeah!" Skull punched his palm. "Let's steal this bastard's heart."

"It's been a long time coming," Panther agreed. "I'm more than ready."

"Then it's decided." Mona straightened up. "Everyone, we've got a heist to complete!"

* * *

Ryuji had insisted on writing the card, and so the next day, Ren slipped in between the mass of people standing around the bulletin boards to view his handiwork.

"_Sir Suguru Kamoshida, the utter bastard of lust. We know how shitty you are, and that you put your twisted desires on students that can't fight back. That's why we've decided to steal away those desires and make you confess your sins. This will be done tomorrow, so we hope you'll be ready. From, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts._"

"_The writing may be crude, but the message gets across well_," Arsene remarked dryly.

_That's Ryuji for you_. Ren allowed himself a fond smile before turning to see Ann looking at the board as well. Their eyes met, and he could tell she was trying to hold in her laughter as well. Noticing Ryuji hanging out a little ways away, they headed over.

Ryuji grinned at them. "Not bad, huh?"

"That logo leaves a lot to be desired, honestly," she told him, a deadpan expression on her face.

"The "Phantom Thieves of Hearts" part was a nice touch." Morgan cringed. "Other than that…"

"I think the cutout letters on the red background is a nice touch though," Ren offered. "But I do think we're going to need a different logo." Ryuji pouted. Behind them, the students at the bulletin board where whispering up a storm.

Kamoshida stormed into view, a murderous expression on his face. "Who's responsible for this!?"

"We should move before he sees us," Ren muttered to his companions. "Just in case."

The best thing about safe rooms was that they could use them to teleport all around the castle. Rather than running through the whole thing again, they jumped to the safe room right before the throne room, and went from there.

"You know, it's kinda suspicious," Skull noted, as they crept through the balcony of the throne room. "I mean, where are all the guards that were here yesterday?"

"The must be spread out around the castle," Mona decided. "Security's at an all time high now, and they don't know that we can move through safe rooms. They must be trying to intercept us."

"Still, we should watch out for traps. Stay cautious." Joker led them into the treasure room. Instead of the strange cloud, now a giant gaudy crown hovered over all the gold. "Ugh."

Mona's eyes went wide, and his pupil's dilated. "That's it! That's the treasure! It's so pretttttyyyyy!"

"Too pretty." Panther squinted at it disdainfully. "Isn't this supposed to be Kamoshida's desires?"

"They're probably pretty to him," Joker suggested. Truthfully, the crown was disturbing him just as much.

Mona leapt at the thing. "Treeeaaaasssuuurreee! Meeeeoooow!"

Skull cleared his throat awkwardly. "Um, is Mona okay? Is this thing like, catnip for him?"

That seemed to bring Mona to his senses, as he shook himself and stepped back. "I - I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. That was uncouth. B-But the fact that I'm attracted to human desires must mean that I was human once, right?"

Not really. But Joker could tell that none of them had the heart to say that out loud. Panther stepped forward. "Let's just get this thing out of here. We'll probably need two people to carry it."

Taking the hint, Joker and Skull stepped forward, and each grabbed one side of the crown. It was heavy, for sure, and Joker was pretty sure it was only his extra strength in the metaverse letting it carry him so easily.

Of course, it wasn't going to be that easy. They hadn't even gotten out of the throne room when the crown was knocked out of their hands. And there was Kamoshida, with the cognitive Ann clinging onto him. The crown flew through the air, shrinking as it went, until it landed in his hand, about the size of a volleyball.

"Did you really think you could take this from me?" The shadow sneered. "I am the kind of this castle, and this is my prize, my core! I'd never let you thieves get away with that."

"You have a disgusting core, you sick bastard," Panther snarled, her eyes on the doll of herself. "And if you think you can get away with this any longer-"

"Sure I can." Kamoshida smirked. "If you're really looking for someone to blame, blame the parents who want their kids to have a good resume, the teachers who want the school to look good, the students who want to do well in my sport! Or that idiot girl who couldn't take it and tried to kill herself They're the ones _letting_ me get away with it. What's wrong with me using my talents to get what I want?"

Joker had never wanted to murder someone more than he did now. The feeling was almost surprising in its strength, and for a moment, all he could think about was how _good_ it would feel to see Kamoshida lying broken on the ground like he had forced Suzui to be.

Shaken by the intensity of that image, he tried to push it away. "When it comes at the expense of others? Plenty."

"Who cares?" Kamoshida spread his arms out wide. "I'm a cut above all other humans, after all."

Panther readied her new chain whip. "Above? You mean beneath! You're nothing but a demon obsessed with your sick desires!"

And Kamoshida laughed, a disgusting sound that Joker never wanted to hear again. "That's right. I'm not like you. I'm a demon who rules the world!"

And he began twisting and changing, growing larger and larger until he hardly resembled anything like a human, with a long tongue, twitching red and yellow eyes, and four arms. In one of his hands was a wine glass with the Ann doll inside, another holding a chalice filled with cognitions of naked human women.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Skull muttered.

"Keep it together Skull!" Mona chastised him. "We just need to distract this thing until we can steal the treasure!"

"Right." Joker shifted through his personas. "Panther, you've got a skill that can keep his attack power down, right? Taruna? Use that as much as you can. Maybe try Dormina as well, see if that works. Mona, you're on healing duty. Skull, use as many physical attacks as you can, keep him occupied. There's a good chance most of his attacks are strength base, so you can handle him better than most. I'll lower his accuracy and evasion, then cycle through some of my personas, see if he's weak to anything."

"You got it!"

* * *

The crown rolled off Kamoshida's head and towards them, shrinking once again to volleyball size. They started towards it, but Kamoshida jumped forward, human once again, and grabbed the crown, running with it.

"Hey!" They followed him, cornering him against one of the small balconies the throne room had. Kamoshida glared at them, hunched over, eyes desperately looking for a way out.

"What's the matter? Why don't you run?" Panther said cooly. "You're a great athlete, after all."

"Shut up!" The shadow hissed. "It's always the same, all those goddamn hyenas forcing their expectations on me! What's wrong with wanting a reward for what I have to put up with?"

Joker clenched his fists, and Skull snorted. "Now you're making excuses? God, can you get any more pathetic? No one's buying what you're selling, you piece of shit." Kamoshida backed up further, and Joker could see the moment the shadow realized he had nowhere to go.

"You know, the view you've got now is the exact same one that Shiho did. I bet she was scared too. Except she had no choice but to jump." Panther stepped forward, and though her face was calm, she was trembling with rage. "Will you jump too? Or would you rather die here?"

"It's your choice what to do with him," Mona told her. "We'll back up your decision."

Joker frowned, because as much as Kamoshida deserved to die, suddenly he didn't want it to happen. Not this way. He didn't want Panther specifically to kill someone. It felt wrong, somehow.

And so when she decided to keep him alive so that he could confess his crimes, Joker breathed a small sigh of relief.

"What do I do now?" Kamoshida whimpered.

"Shouldn't that be obvious?" Joker raised an eyebrow at him. "Atone for you sins. You can never make up for what you've done, but at least by confessing, you can give your victims some peace."

Kamoshida rolled the treasure towards them, and Ryuji picked it up. Then the shadow disappeared, presumably returning to his real self.

The castle around them shook. "We don't have time to waste," Mona informed them. "This place is about to collapse."

Joker nodded. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

Ren stepped through the door to LeBlanc, and the first thing he noticed was the green haired woman sitting at one of the booths, sipping coffee. She looked up, and their eyes met, and for a moment, it was as though the world around them froze, and it was just the two of them.

"Looks like she finally caught you at the right time," Sojiro noted, and the moment was over. Ren looked over to his guardian. "If you two want to talk in private, you can do so now. I've got some things I need to get from the store." He left, and it was just Ren, Morgana, and the strange woman.

"She's weird," Morgana murmured. "She feels human, but at the same time, not. I've never seen anything like her."

"Isn't it a bit rude, to talk about someone right in front of them?" Morgana startled and looked over in alarm. The woman sipped her coffee, not taking her eyes off of Ren. "At least sit down first."

Ren hesitated, then sat across from her. "C.C., right? That's your name?"

"That's right." It was like C.C. was staring right through him, looking for something. "I must admit, It's good to finally see you again. You really can't keep yourself out of trouble now, can you?"

Morgana flicked his tail worriedly. "You two know each other?"

"You mean besides catching her spying on me multiple times since I got to Tokyo? No." He put a reassuring hand on Morgana, and frowned at C.C. "Is there something you want from me? If not, I'd appreciate it if you left me alone. I don't know if you know this, but people don't generally enjoy being stalked."

"You really don't remember, then?" Ren thought she might've looked sad at that, but it was probably just his imagination. "I suppose that's not that big of a surprise. There was a low chance we would meet again at all. Having you remember was too much to hope for."

"I have no idea what your talking about." He could feel Arsene shifting around, as if his persona knew something he didn't.

"_I know what you know. I am thou, after all._"

_Not helping_.

"Hmm." C.C. set her coffee down. "I've been around for a very long time, and I've never had coffee or curry quite like this. I'll need to come back again for more." She leaned forward, placing her head on her hands. "Let me make a guess. Ever since you could remember, there's been something inside you. Some anger, indignation, a burning feeling you can't get rid of. You don't know why you have it, or where it came from, but it's always been there inside you. People and places can give you major deja-vu. Not the normal kind, but the kind that pulls you towards them for no reason. You don't know why they do, you've never been there before. And there's that general dissatisfaction with the way things are that's never gone away. Is that right?"

Ren couldn't breathe, and for a moment, his mind went blank. "How did you-?"

"Ren? Ren, what's wrong, what's she talking about?"

"I know why that is. I know what it means." C.C.'s tone held no room for argument. "And I can help you find out why."

He took a moment to collect some of his sense. "And why would you do that? What do you want from me?"

That sad look was back, and this time Ren wasn't too sure it was just his imagination. "I want you to remember, and to understand. We are still bound together by our contract, after all."

Ren looked away, looked around the cafe, at Morgana. The cat still looked surprised, but now he seemed lost in thought as well. "It would be a good idea to keep an eye on her, at least. Something tells me she knows more than she's letting on."

Clearly. If she really knew him as well as she seemed to, he had to find out why. Ren still didn't trust her as far as he could throw her. But…

"_Take the Confidant. Find out what she knows. Go from there. Simple enough_."

He wanted to understand. And she seemed to have the answers.

"We can talk, but I have terms. Not while I'm at school, or at work. We can talk here, or somewhere else we both agree on," he told her.

"I suppose I can agree to that." She smiled lightly. "I look forward to working with you again, Ren."

_I am Thou, Thou art I, Thou hast acquired a new vow. _

_It shall become the wings of rebellion, that breaketh thy chains of captivity. _

_With the birth of the Aeon Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power._

He hoped he didn't come to regret this.

* * *

**And so Ren's Confidant with C.C. finally begins. I've been waiting to write that for a long time. **

**I skipped the boss fight, I know. I'm very sorry. But I was having a lot of trouble writing it, to the point where I just had to put the story down for a bit, and eventually I realized that if I kept torturing myself over it this chapter was never going to get done. Maybe one day I'll add it back in. I hope you all don't mind. There was also a lot of little things that were pretty much all Persona 5 and no Code Geass, but there's a reason for them, I promise. After all, it's harder to write the later plot elements well without a solid base, and I wanted to show how this Ren was going to be interacting with some of his Confidants.**

**Answers to comments:**

**ChimaTigon: At least one is here now! They'll be coming in more and more often as the story goes on, I promise!**

**warrior of six blades: Agreed. Some of the other villains in P5 have more bad deeds to their name, but Kamoshida is the most hated for a reason. There's something extremely personal about wanting to take him down after everything he did, even if he his a video game character. And yes, Ren is definitely struggling with killing Kamoshida because he used to be Lelouch. It's contradictory to his morals in this life, and it's certainly giving him one hell of a headache. **

**Guest: While that would be an interesting story, it's very different, and would end up having a way different plotline. Maybe another story.**

**reaperofthings2002: I'm so glad you like it! A lot of the Code Geass characters are older now, which is really weird to think about. No worries, this is still being worked on!**

**Kite: I'm so glad you liked it!**

**As always, I hope you enjoyed, and please leave a review, let me know what you think!**

**I hope you all enjoyed**


	5. Chapter 5

**And we're back again, for another new chapter! I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

As stressful as going through that palace was, waiting over the weekend to see if Kamoshida had a change of heart was just as, if not even more, anxiety-provoking. They had done all they could, and Ren knew it. Now all they could do was wait and see if they'd truly succeeded.

Ann, whom he ran into at the train station, seemed to share the sentiment. "Do you really think we did it? Changed Kamoshida's heart, I mean." She twirled one of her pigtails around her finger. "I mean, we didn't kill his shadow, so he should be fine…"

"I'm sure it worked," Ren said, hiding his own doubts. "We did everything right, stealing the treasure without killing his shadow. Not to mention, if he'd died of a mental shutdown, we would've heard about it by now, either on the news or from the school notifying us. Things will work out."

Ann smiled gratefully at him. "You're right. I'm sure we did it." She laughs a little. "You know, Of all the people to end up fighting a monster version of our teacher with, I'm glad it was you and Ryuji. You make a great team leader." Her train pulled in, so she smiled at him and squeezed his hand briefly before walking away.

_A great team leader, huh?_

There was something both stressful and exhilarating about taking charge of a group, of having other's lives in his hands. It was so easy to slip into the role, for reasons Ren didn't, _couldn't_, understand. It was also frightening, because they had nearly died fighting Shadow Kamoshida, and then Ryuji, Ann, and Morgana's deaths would've been his fault, because they trusted him.

No one had ever trusted him like that before. He never thought that anyone would. Ren was the weird kid, the half-blood, the guy who's own parents didn't want him around. And yet, here these people were, trusting him with their lives.

The thought warmed him, suddenly, and Ren decided that whether or not they ever entered the Metaverse again, he would do his best to live up to their expectations.

And of course, there was C.C and her words to think about. What was it that she wanted him to remember? He could feel her Confidant, like he could feel the others, a small chain linking him to the green-haired woman. It wasn't as strong as the ones he had with Ann and Ryuji, but it was definitely there.

There was still Kamoshida to think about as well. Despite what he'd told Ann, Ren wasn't confident they had succeeded, and wouldn't be until he saw tangible results. Hopefully they'd know for sure on Monday.

For now, he took Sunday off, watching a show on the new TV he got himself with his metaverse money. Morgana had been surprisingly into it, and the cat's reactions were much more entertaining than the show itself.

He also found himself checking out the diner in Yongen, which turned out to have some really tasty food. Ryuji and Ann met him and Morgana there, and the four of them talked about everything and nothing, purposefully avoiding the topic of Kamoshida.

Monday came, and although Ren kept an eye out, Kamoshida was nowhere to be seen. They got an announcement in their first class of the day saying study hall would be held instead of gym classes.

Ryuji approached him in the halls before lunch, looking nervous. "Have you seen Kamoshida today? They said gym class was put on hold…"

Ren shook his head. "I'd have hoped he'd confess as soon as we changed his heart," he admitted, keeping his voice low. "I guess not."

"Oh, perfect timing." They both turned to see Kawakami-sensei approaching them. "You've heard about gym class, right? I'm letting all of the students know."

"We have," Ren told her. "Do you know why we don't have gym?"

Kawakami made a face, like she hated the idea of answering the questions of a delinquent like him. Still, she answered despite her obvious mistrust. "Kamoshida-san is taking the day off." She leaned in closer. "Don't tell anyone you heard this from me, but we received word that he's placing himself under suspension. Talks of your expulsion have been put on hold because of it." There was something like pity in her eyes. "Keep your heads down while this gets sorted out, alright?" They watched her walk away.

"I think that's the friendliest Kawakami-sensei's ever been," Ren mused. "She almost sounded worried for us."

"Hopefully that means things worked out." Ryuji shook his head in disbelief. "Suspension! Maybe things really did work out after all."

Kamoshida didn't show up the next day, or the day after that. In fact, he never showed his face on campus the entire rest of the week. With nothing they could do to speed up the process, the group did as Kawakami said and kept their noses down, doing a couple more workouts together. Ryuji showed Ren where the local arcade was, and Ren spent an entire afternoon getting his but kicked in old-school video games by his new friend.

Ann invited both of them to her favorite crepe place, and Ren got to witness the unique experience of seeing someone be a bigger eater than him.

Ann puffed up when she mentioned it. "Only when it comes to sweets! And I've got a good metabolism, so I don't need to worry about it. Plus all that running and jumping and fighting in the metaverse has made me even more hungry than before."

Ren held up his hands in surrender. "I'm not judging. I've won the mega-beef-bowl challenge back home, which is no easy feat."

"If you say so." Ryuji grinned. "You could always check out Big Bang Burger if you want a challenge like that. I heard they have a near impossible burger challenge."

"Ren, please don't," Morgana groaned. Ren just grinned, watching as Ann stuck her tongue out at them before stuffing another crepe into her mouth.

Still, even if things were mostly uneventful, there was a certain nervous energy in the air as they waited for Kamoshida to confess. And Ren hadn't seen C.C since he made a Confidant link with her.

And of course there was Sojiro. He was still as gruff as ever, but something had changed since he'd offered to teach Ren how to brew a good cup of coffee. Whenever he was teaching, he seemed almost kind. Not that Ren was holding out hope for any large changes, but it was a step up from being constantly degraded by his guardian.

On Friday, Ann sent them a text, inviting them to go and see Shiho with her. Morgana wasn't allowed in the hospital, but Ren and Ryuji came. Ann gave them a small smile as they arrived.

"Thanks for coming you guys," she said, voice subdued.

"Of course," Ryuji insisted. "Shiho was my friend too, even if we drifted apart. I should've gone to see her earlier."

"I may not have known her, but she mattered a lot to both of you," Ren agreed. "Thank you for inviting me."

Ann's eyes were wet, and she jumped forward, enveloping them both in a big hug. Ren stiffened slightly. The only person that he could remember giving him a real hug before this was Nanako, and even then it had felt different somehow. When Ryuji hugged her back, he followed suit.

She led them down the halls and to one of the rooms. Inside lay Suzui, strapped up to an IV with an oxygen mask on. Her breath was steady, but she obviously wasn't waking up. Ann sat down next to her, taking a hold of her hand and whispering something Ren couldn't catch.

Ren wasn't sure what to say. He had only talked to Suzui briefly, the day before she jumped. He wasn't able to get to know her at all, much less help her. As much as he wished there was something he could've done, it was obvious that he couldn't have changed things himself. Not with what knowledge he'd had at the time.

That didn't mean it couldn't wish things were different. Suzui deserved more than just to be avenged after she fell. She'd needed Kamoshida taken care of before he could do all those horrible things to her.

If only they'd known sooner.

As they were leaving, Ann held him back for a moment. "I know were a little uncomfortable, but seriously, thank you for coming. It was a lot easier with you and Ryuji around."

"Of course." Ren offered her a smile. "I totally get it." There was something about Ann that was so familiar, but he still couldn't put his finger on it.

It was a feeling that only strengthened as the Lover's Confidant did.

* * *

They had a morning assembly the day of the board meeting. Ren stood with his friends, Morgana in his backpack, while the Principle got up on stage and turned to address the students.

"As you know, a tragic event took place the other day," Kobayakawa started. "Thankfully, we've been informed that she will pull through, but it will take time before she recovers. Everyone here has a bright future ahead. I implore that you rethink the importance of the value of life and-"

The back doors to the gym slammed open.

Ren turned, and there was Kamoshida, head hanging low.

"Kamoshida-san, what is the-" Kobayakawa started, but Kamoshida interrupted him.

"I have been reborn," Kamoshida said, a haunted look in his eyes. "That is why I have something to confess to you all." He made his way up onto the stage, and Ren held his breath. He could feel Ann tensing next to him, and Morgana shifting nervously in his bag.

"I have repeatedly done things that were… unbecoming of a teacher," Kamoshida admitted, and Ren's heart soared. "Verbally abusing students, physically abusing my team, and… sexually harassing female students." Whispers shot up around them, worried, disbelieving, and _hopeful_. Ren clung onto those last ones. "I am the reason Shiho Suzui tried to kill herself."

The man fell to his knees as the whispers grew louder. "I thought of this school as my own castle. There were students that I sentenced to expulsion, simply because I didn't like them. I will of course rescind those. I am an arrogant, shallow, and shameful person. No, worse than that." His head touched the ground. "I'll take full responsibility and kill myself for it."

And as Principal Neck yelled for Kamoshida to get off the stage, Ren's first thought was worry that Kamoshida would kill himself before he could rescind their expulsions.

_What is _wrong _with me?_

"Don't run, you bastard!" Ann yelled, and the room went silent. Kamoshida looked up at her, pain in his eyes. "Shiho's still alive after all the things you did that made her want to die. You have no right to run from this!" Her voice broke. Ren, not quite knowing what to do, stood behind her in a silent show of support.

"You're right," Kamoshida agreed, sobbing. "I - I did horrible things to Takamaki-san as well, trying to force her into having relations. As of today, I will resign from my teaching post and turn myself in. Someone, please call the police."

Everyone was starting to talk loudly now, and the teachers called the assembly over.

"Isn't this just like what that calling card said?" Someone whispered, and Ren could hear Morgana chuckling behind him.

"Does that mean the Phantom Thieves were for real?"

"Come on, there's no way you could actually steal someone's heart!"

"But why would he suddenly start acting like this then?"

Ryuji met up with the three of them after most of the gym had cleared out. "It looks like it really worked. His heart actually changed." There was something like unease in his expression.

Ann nodded, though she looked less conflicted. "It feels… weird. Him changing like that, I mean. No in a bad way, just - weird."

"I know we did the right thing, but it still feels off, him changing so fast." Ryuji sighed and shook his head. "I'm just glad he didn't die. But, should we be more concerned about what we did?"

"I think the reason you feel so concerned is because you're a really empathetic person," Ren offered. "Kamoshida deserved it, no question. And now he's going to face the consequences of his crimes, while we don't get expelled over nothing. I can't see it not being a good thing. But it's good to be empathetic like that."

Honestly, Ren was almost jealous. Not seriously minding the idea of killing, not feeling too bad over Kamoshida's distress… did that make him a bad person. Was there something wrong with him?

_Would C.C know the answers to that?_

They were directed back to their classrooms shortly after, but it seemed that no one could concentrate, whispers about what happened flying across the room.

"I still can't believe that happened!"

"What really was it that changed his mind? It couldn't have been those calling cards."

"I dunno. I mean those mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns happen really suddenly too."

"Maybe it's related!"

Ren stiffened in his seat when he heard this.

_Maybe it is_.

* * *

Ann went to go talk to Shiho, and Ren, Ryuji, and Morgana sat up on the roof, where the Olympic medal, the physical representation of Kamoshida's stolen desires, sat in between them.

"I have a theory," Ren admitted to the others. "I wanted to wait until we were all together to say it, but Ann's got to visit Shiho, and it's been on my mind all day."

Morgana flicked his tail, looking interested. "Go right ahead then."

Ren took a deep breath. "So it seems, to trigger a change of heart, we need to follow a very specific path. Find the treasure room, alert the target that we're going to steal their treasure, and then take the treasure without killing the Shadow."

Ryuji nodded along. "Right. That's what we did, and it worked out."

"But what if we didn't follow that order? What if we killed the Shadow?" Ren pressed. "Morgana, you said that the person could lose the will to live. Perhaps they would just _shut down_?"

Morgana caught on quickly. "You think the mental shutdowns are being caused by people's Shadows being killed?" He seemed contemplative. "It would make sense. Shadows are the repressed part of a person's psyche. By destroying them, one would be destroying a part of the person's mind."

"That doesn't mean - the other shadows we've fought, the smaller ones. They're not connected to any one person, right?" Ryuji looked alarmed, and Ren didn't blame him. Even if he'd considered killing Kamoshida, the thought of accidentally killing as many people as shadows they'd destroyed was sickening beyond belief.

"They're not," Morgana was fast to assure them. "They're just bits and pieces of the collective human consciousness, belonging to no one person's mind. We can destroy as many as we want without hurting anyone." They both breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's good to know." Ren cleared his throat and continued. "Anyways. If you just straight up kill the Shadow, you can cause a mental shutdown. If you follow a specific pattern, you can change their heart. Who's to say there isn't another method that would cause the target to undergo a psychotic breakdown?"

"That's an effin' terrifying thought." Ryuji ran a hand through his hair. "And all these shutdowns and breakdowns that have been going on lately…" His eyes widened with horror. "You're not saying-!?"

"There's a chance someone else has figured it out, and is using a persona to target all these people," Ren finished gravely. "Who's to say we're the first ones to have found the metaverse?"

There was a moment of silence where they all digested this. "Then, all those people who've been shutdown or head breakdowns have had palaces?" Ryuji offered haltingly.

Morgana shook his head. "Probably not. There's another place where people's shadows can gather, but I'll save that for when Lady Ann is here."

"Well, I'm here now. What was it you wanted to tell me?" They turned to see Ann walking across the roof towards them, clearly in a good mood. Ren almost didn't want to spoil it for her.

Ryuji perked up. "How's Shiho doing?"

Ann beamed at them. "She's regained consciousness!" Her smile and enthusiasm at the good news was infectious, and Ren couldn't help but smile back. Ann sunk into one of the empty seats. "It was only for a little bit, but I got to talk to her! I was able to tell her that Kamoshida confessed to what he did!" There were tears in her eyes and her voice wobbled, but Ren couldn't blame her in the slightest. She rubbed her eyes. "She tried to apologize to me, even, because she figured out that I was dealing with Kamoshida for her sake. And I wanted to apologize to her!"

"Kamoshida's at fault for all this," Morgana assured her.

Ann nodded, giving them a weak smile. "Shiho will be going to another school after this. After everything, she and her mom figured it would be better if she got a new start somewhere else."

"It's gonna be lonely." Ryuji tapped her shoulder lightly. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah. I mean, it'll be lonely without her, but it's for the best. She gave them a grin. Besides, it could be a lot worse. I've got you three now, after all!" And wasn't that nice to hear.

Still, the good mood faded a bit, as the boys looked at each other. In the end, it was Ryuji who spoke first. "Hey, Ann, Ren figured something out that you should probably know…"

Ann listened through Ren's theory with narrowed eyes. "So you think someone else has been killing people via the metaverse? That's horrible! And so many of them too."

"We need to keep an eye out," Morgana said seriously. "If there really is someone else roaming around the metaverse, there's a chance we might run into them if we go back."

"Shouldn't we try and stop them too?" Ryuji offered. "I mean, they're killing so many people! And we might be the only ones who can catch them."

Ren frowned and tapped his chin. "These shutdowns have been happening for a while now. Even if we do run into the killer, they're almost certainly much more powerful. I mean, if we can accomplish and grow so much in only a few days, who's to say what they've done over a longer period of time? That's not taking into account whether they're a normal persona user, or if they can use more than one, like me."

Ann gripped the side of her chair. "You think that Igor you told us about is helping them?"

Ren thought of the Velvet Room, the creepy twins and their even creepier warden. "Who knows? I wouldn't put it past him. Don't get me wrong, his help has been invaluable. But he obviously isn't human, and it's hard to put a true motivation onto him. Who's to say he cares about things like humans dying? He might have some sort of blue and orange morality system, for all we know."

"So there's really no one we can trust, is there?" Ann looked unhappy. "I guess that figures."

"That's not true." Morgana stood up. "We can trust each other! We've survived a dangerous palace together and succeeded in changing Kamoshida's heart."

Ryuji smirked and thumped the table. "Morgana's right! There's no group of people I'd rather have at my side." Ren returned his smirk with one of his own. He was still a bit nervous about trusting a large group, but after everything, he knew he could trust his new friends. "Still, we should lay low for a while. If there's someone in the metaverse killing people, they might get suspicious that someone at this school has the same powers as them.

"That was surprisingly astute of you, Ryuji," Morgana purred.

"Thanks!" Then, "Wait, hey!" Ren couldn't help but laugh.

Ann's chuckles died down as she gingerly picked up the medal. "What should we do with this thing, then? Sell it?"

"Makes sense to me." Ryuji pulled out his phone. "Let's see how much it can be sold for."

"We can't sell it at any normal vendor," Ren reminded him. "They'll ask to many questions."

"Yeah, good point." Ryuji grimaced at the screen. "Only thirty-thousand yen? Seriously?"

Ann gave Ryuji her best innocent look. "Remember that time in middle school when I lent you some money?" Ryuji burst into protests.

Morgana shook his head. "I agree on laying low and keeping an eye out. But really, it would be nonsense not to celebrate a successful mission." The two stopped their bickering to look at the cat. "I say that further discussions on the Phantom Thieves should take place over luxurious food. What about it?"

Ren shrugged. "It's a good day when I get to eat that beef with Ryuji, so I'm all for spending this on good food."

Ryuji eyed him. "Don't you live in a restaurant?"

"I get good coffee and curry from that, but I can't eat it every day."

His friend shook his head. "You should've said so sooner! My mom's the best cook, she'd be happy to make you something for lunch! I'm not so bad myself."

"I might just take you up on that offer," Ren decided. He was a decent cook himself, but Sojiro had stressed that food in the restaurant was to be used for customers, which left him getting takeout ramen most of the time.

"I've got an idea for a place," Ann told them. "Shiho and I have been wanting to go there for a while now."

Ryuji just shrugged his shoulders, looking a bit downcast. "I owe money, so I can't complain."

"Fine by me," Ren agreed. "Morgana and I can sell the medal." He thought about Iwai's shop and how the man clearly wasn't fond of authorities. They should be able to sell it there.

Morgana hummed. "That's true. We'll stop by there as soon as we can."

Ann bounced up and down. "Oh, now I'm excited! I'll check the prices. We can go at the end of golden week, on Children's Day. That way we'll be all energized when school starts up again."

* * *

Unfortunately, Ren couldn't sell the medal the next day, as Sojiro had him helping in the restaurant. They both listened as the news story about Kamoshida broke, and Ren listened to his schoolmates, being interviewed about it on TV.

"Hey, isn't - this is your school, isn't it?" Sojiro frowned at him.

Ren sighed and prepared himself for another lecture. "Yeah. He leaked my records and spread rumors about me throughout the school. Hopefully they'll die down now. Not that it's as bad as what those other kids went through, but I'm not totally surprised he turned out to be a scumbag." Sojiro fell silent.

"Are you alright?"

Ren nearly dropped the dish he was washing in shock. "Who, me?"

Sojiro raised an eyebrow. "Who else would I be talking to? You didn't tell me someone had done that."

Ren turned back to the dishes. "I didn't think you would care. Yeah, I'm fine. Like I said, it's not nearly as bad as what everyone else has to deal with. Two of my friends had it worse than almost anyone. Besides, it's not like there's anything I can do about it."

"You sound so certain." They both turned around at C.C.'s voice. She was seated at one of the booths. Ren had no idea how she'd gotten in. "One coffee please. House blend."

Sojiro stood and made his way around the counter. "I'll take the rest of the dishes. You know how to brew the coffee now, right? Good." Ren dried his hands and quickly made the coffee before bringing it to the green-haired woman.

"It's all over the news. Congratulations." Ren looked back to Sojiro, who didn't seem to hear, then glared at her.

"Don't say that so loudly." He paused. "But thanks, I guess." C.C. didn't smile, but her eyes were surprisingly warm.

Still. C.C. Could hear Morgana. C.C. had been to the Metaverse.

Ren narrowed his eyes.

"I don't have a persona, if that's what you're wondering," C.C. murmured, answering his unspoken question. "I have no need for one. The first time I had been in what you call the Metaverse was when I was sucked in by your app. You can believe me or not, of course."

Morgana, who up until now had been eyeing her silently, spoke up. "I think she's telling the truth. Call it a hunch from someone who's spent so much time in the Metaverse that I've been distorted, but I don't think she's the one we're looking for."

C.C. raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"None of your business." Ren sighed. There was something about C.C. that just seemed to get on his nerves.

If Morgana thought she was telling the truth, then he'd believe it. But he didn't trust her. Something told him she was the type to withhold as much of the truth as she could.

* * *

They traded the metal for the cash without much problem. Iwai raised an eyebrow, but agreed as long as they held onto something for him. There was a bit of a panic when two detectives came in, but it passed quickly and Ren made his way out.

The interesting thing about that was what was inside the package - a model gun so well made it almost seemed entirely real. If they could figure out a way to purchase something like that, there was a good chance they could immensely upgrade their weapon's effectiveness.

More importantly, the restaurant Ann chose was a high class buffet in a super rich hotel, and the food was even better than Ren could've imagined, to the point where the steak would even give Inaba's a run for its money.

"Hmmm, this stuff is so good!" Ryuji sunk down in his seat.

"What did you expect?" Ann laughed. "This is a famous hotel after all." She took another large bite of her strawberry cake, and sobered up a bit. "I heard the police are coming to our school to interview people."

Morgana frowned. "That's troublesome."

"But not surprising," Ren reminded them. "There's still going to be a sentencing, even if Kamoshida confessed. They're going to want evidence to put him away for more or less time. We just need to be careful."

"Our names are totally gonna come up, because Kamoshida mentioned Ann specifically, and 'cause he almost expelled us," Ryuji groaned. "But I guess that would happen even if we weren't the Phantom Thieves." He brightened. "Oh, and check this out." He held up his phone. On it was a website entitled the "phansite", were lots of people seemed to be posting.

"Thank you Phantom Thieves," Ann read. "You've given us hope." She shook her head. "I just wanted to fix my own problems, but seeing all this makes it feel so much better. Like we really did something we can be proud of."

"Yeah…" Ryuji trailed off. "But what do we do now?"

Although he knew it wasn't what Ryuji meant, what Ren ended up saying was: "Finish easting?"

Ann shot up like a bullet. "There's only fifty minutes left! I need to eat my way through the entire desert menu!"

Ryuji looked as though he'd been electrocuted. "I haven't even really started the beef dishes!"

Ren laughed, let Morgana back into his bag, and followed his friends to the buffet tables, picking out an assortment of things from different sections.

As he was making his way back, he found himself bumping into someone and almost knocking the food off his plate. Ignoring Morgana's startled meows, he turned to apologize, and found himself face to face with a woman, who had long black hair and startling green eyes, wearing fancy traditional clothing.

"Sorry about that," he murmured, before processing the look on her face.

She was looking at him with wide eyes, like she was seeing some sort of ghost. Something in his chest twinged uncomfortably.

Maybe it was just his imagination, but Ren could've sworn he felt the same sensation in one of his eyes.

A man in a dark suit pushed him back, stepping in front of the woman. "How dare you-"

"No, it's alright." She waved the confused man off, still staring at him intently. "Are you - no, you can't be. How is this possible?"

"Someone else like that C.C.?" Morgana hissed. "But she seems totally human."

Ren forced himself to look her in the eye. "I'm sorry, I don't think we've met before. I need to get back to my table now. Sorry for bumping into you." With that, he took his leave, trying to ignore the eyes he could feel following him.

Ryuji and Ann were already back at the table. "You alright, Renren?" Ryuji asked. "You look kinda unnerved."

"Yeah, you're a little pale," Ann agreed. Ren set his plate down, ignoring the annoying nickname.

"I'm fine. Just got some weird Deja-vu feeling, I guess. Bumped into someone really weird." Thankfully, they didn't press further.

* * *

Ren made his way back from the bathrooms with Ryuji and Morgana, heading towards the elevator that would take them back to the restaurant.

"You were talking big about eating until you puked, but you really did puke," Morgana groaned at Ryuji. "What are you, some kind of moron?"

"Shut up. The same goes for you anyways." Ryuji rolled his eyes, hand poised over the elevator buttons. "What floor was the restaurant on again?"

"Fourth floor," Ren answered automatically. "We came up to get here."

"Thanks, you're a lifesaver." Ryuji pressed the "down" button.

Distracted by their stomachs, they didn't even notice the men coming until Ren and Ryuji were rudely shoved to the side. The ones who did it were a group of men in fancy suits, and the bald one in the center…

_He's familiar._ It was the closest to a full on _growl_ Ren had ever heard from Arsene. _That night_.

...Well shit.

"There's still no update on the case?" The man asked one of his group.

"N-Not yet. Excuse me, but, why are you getting involved? This isn't something you should be concerned with."

The man glared. "I don't care about your opinion, you incompetent buffoon. If I say pick up the pace, you do it!"

"Hey, you're cutting in line!" Ryuji griped, and, seized with a sudden fear that his friend could be hurt by this man the way he was, Ren found himself grabbing Ryuji's arm and pulling him backwards slightly. Ryuji looked at him, surprised, but something must've shown on his face, because his friend quickly backed off.

"We're in a hurry," was the explanation given, as the group brushed past them and into the elevator. Ren took a deep breath, trying to quell the fear that had accompanied his usual rush of anger.

Ryuji turned to him. "What was all that about? You know that guy?"

"I think so," Ren admitted. "I'll tell you later. But we can't do anything about him right now."

They eventually made it back to an irate Ann. "What took you so long?"

"Something wrong, Lady Ann?" Morgana asked curiously. Ann just sighed.

"It's nothing, sorry. Some lady I ran into. She bumped into me, but then insisted that I should apologize and that it was all my fault that she dropped her plate."

"Sounds like a real bitch," Ryuji grumbled, as they took their seats. "We ran into an asshole like that too."

Ann gave them a long look. "I wonder if we're out of place here."

Ren murmured his agreement. "It seems like this happens everywhere we go." They all sat in silence for a moment.

Then Ryuji leaned forward. "You know, Morgana did mention that anyone with a distorted enough desire can get a palace. Who's to say at least some of these assholes don't have palaces themselves?"

Ann perked up, eyes alight with interest. "You want to continue as the Phantom Thieves?"

"We were able to help a lot of people by taking down Kamoshida," Ren said, already thinking. "And it seems to be just our luck to run into horribly corrupt people over and over again. If we see someone else hurting others like our teacher did, we should use our power to step in. What's the point of having it otherwise? Not to mention the good chance someone else is already using the Metaverse for their own ends. We can't leave that unchecked forever, can we?"

"If we ignore people who are in trouble, I'll go back to being the same as I was before. I don't want to do that," Ann admitted. "I want to prevent as many people from ending up like Shiho as I can."

"Well said." Morgana beamed. "You're all under my tutelage. There's nothing we can't accomplish as the Phantom Thieves!"

"And I guess that means we'll be fighting shadows again as well." There was apprehension in Ann's voice, but also excitement in her eyes.

Ryuji grinned. "That's fine by me."

"Heh. Even if you guys are just fledglings, this means we're an actual organization now," Morgana said. "As such, we're going to need an official leader."

"Well, that's obvious, isn't it?" Ryuji scoffed. "Ren's gonna be our leader."

"You took charge really well at the castle." Ann looked at him imploringly. "Are you alright with that?"

Was he? The initial strange dislike of leading a group had given way to worry that he could get his friends hurt if he made a wrong move. But right now, with his friend's eyes on him, Ren couldn't say anything but yes. "If everyone is okay with it."

"Maybe we should make it so that any target has to be decided on unanimously," Ann offered. "That way we don't get too big for our britches or anything." This was quickly agreed upon.

"Then it's decided." Morgana puffed up. "The Phantom Thieves of Hearts are officially in business!"

* * *

**Writing extremely smart characters is a lot of fun. The trick is trying to figure out how much they could reasonably deduce. **

**With Ren (who, do to being Lelouch, has already maxed out his intelligence), he knows how to alter a person's heart, and now that Kamoshida's confessed, knows how drastic and sudden the shift can be. He also knows that according to Morgana, getting the heart-changing process wrong can affect a person negatively, effectively "shutting them down". It's not too much of a jump from there to guess that Mental Shutdowns and Psychotic Breakdowns, both of which feature a sudden massive change in a person psyche, could be caused through the Metaverse. **

**Since it was a change the PT physically had to invoke, he comes to the conclusion that another person could be causing the shutdowns. And of course, since Igor is powerful and inhuman, Ren has no reason to believe his motivations entirely align with Ren's. And with him suggesting that they might be a wildcard, it's not him thinking specifically that they **_are_**, it's him not ruling out the possibility. Ren has no reason to believe he's the only wildcard out there.**

**He doesn't know the specifics Psychotic breakdowns really are invoked. He has no idea who is causing them, which is why he first suspects C.C. and distrusts her a bit more. I hope that clears things up, for anyone who was confused.**

**Also: Another Code Geass character makes her first appearance! I wonder if you can guess who they are?**

**Answers to the comments:**

**ChimaTigon: Absolutely! There's no way Nunnally won't be showing up. In fact, I already know when it'll happen.**

**CheesyPotatoFries(1): I'm glad you like it! Both Nunnally and Suzaku will be meeting Ren/Lelouch eventually, as well as many other Code Geass characters. (2): There are absolutely more reincarnated Phantom Thieves, although I'm not going to be spoiling them just yet! The same goes for possible Geass. Don't worry about asking too many questions, I love to get them! I'm so glad you like this story so much.**

**kerrowe(1): I don't want to spoil too much about where the story will go, but Masayoshi Shido is absolutely still a threat, and one the Phantom Thieves will want to take down. With the addition of Code Geass however, things will slowly start going off the rails from the original. ****(2): Yeah, the palace was admittedly meant to last a lot longer, but I realized the story wouldn't continue if I kept getting stuck there. I might go back and work on it again later. **

**catabek06(1): I'm glad you're liking it so far! Now I'm curious to know who you think Ann is. Don't worry, this is definitely still uploading! (2): Interactions between Persona and Code Geass characters is something I'm really looking forward to as well. As for getting vibes from Ren... you'll see! Mean nicknames are absolutely the fate of Lulu.**

** nobodyreallyimportant: I'm glad to see you're interested, even if you didn't think much of it at first! I hope you continue to enjoy.**

**Anyways, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, and please don't forget to review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm back! To be totally honest, I wrote this chapter right after the last one, but I wanted to wait a few days to post it. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

It had become routine for the four of them to meet up on the roof for lunch, and even though Kamoshida was gone, none of them could think of a reason to stop doing so. As promised, Ryuji had brought him something from his mother, and Ren savored the taste of good homemade food as his friends scrolled through the newly made phansite.

"We've been getting a lot of comments on here," Ryuji noted brightly, looking down at his phone. "People are seriously interested!"

"Yeah, but most of these are pretty dumb." Ann shook her head. "'Dear Phantom Thieves, My sister won't clean her room. Please steal her heart.' Oh, and here's one: 'Deer Pahntom Thives, theres this girl I like who doesnt like me back. Steal her heart and make her like me.' Ugh, the typos!"

Ren looked over curiously. "Huh. I didn't know we were deer. I suppose that's why no one has figured us out yet."

Ann covered her mouth to hide her giggles. "Sorry, now I'm just imagining a bunch of deer sneaking around Kamoshida's palace."

"The ones with the big horns too," Ryuji added in, before putting his hands to his head to imitate what must be his impression of deer. Ann collapsed with laughter, and even Ren couldn't help but chuckle.

Morgana rolled his eyes. "You're all so childish! We do need to lay low, although keep an eye out for any requests that have a name and a genuine cry for help. They're always good to keep in mind."

The police came by later in the afternoon, and Ren saw them talking to different teachers as he walked through the halls. At one point, Kawakami even got called out to do an interview. They hadn't moved on to students yet, but it was only a matter of time. Still, with exams coming up and not much else to focus on, Ren decided to put at least a little effort into paying attention in class.

It was after the bell rang that Mishima approached him, already looking much better. The bruises were still there, but they were fading fast.

"Mishima. You look better," Ren noted with a smile. Despite the fact that Mishima had been the one to post all those rumors, he still couldn't find it in him to blame the guy. Especially not after seeing the mind of Mishima's abuser firsthand.

Mishima grinned at him. "Thanks. I feel a lot better too. Things have already changed since Kamoshida confessed." His grin turned conspiratorial. "Have you seen that Phantom Aficionado Website?"

"Of course," Ren confirmed. "It's gotten a lot of attention already, and not just from people at Shujin." That was honestly the most surprising part. Although perhaps students had told their parents, or friends from outside of school, although he wondered why those people would bother. The Phantom Thieves would prove that they existed, but that was still a ways off.

"I'm the one who started it," Mishima admitted. He lowered his voice to a whisper and leaned in closer. "You guys are the Phantom Thieves, right? You and Sakamoto and Takamaki? No worries, I'll keep it a secret. But you should know that I know, I think."

"I appreciate it." Ren had kind of expected this. Mishima had almost been expelled by Kamoshida with them, had known the most outside of their small circle. At least he was the type to keep it to himself. "I'm going to have to say no, for plausible deniability. But the phansite sure is something someone who might be a Phantom Thief would appreciate."

"I'm glad." Mishima's eyes drooped. "Kamoshida used me, and I did some horrible things to you. But if there's anything else I can do to make it up to you, just let me know!"

Ren nodded. "Of course."

_I am Thou, Thou art I, Thou hast acquired a new vow. _

_It shall become the wings of rebellion, that breaketh thy chains of captivity._

_With the birth of the Moon Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power._

* * *

Figuring Ann had been the one to invite them out for crepes last time, Ren decided to be the one to treat everyone this time around.

"I might not know many places in Tokyo," he admitted, "but I've got more than enough from the Metaverse to treat everyone at the diner."

"I wish, man." Ryuji sighed. "I gotta get home and help my mom. She just texted me a bit ago. You two have fun without me, okay?"

Ann waved off his apologies. "It won't be the same without you, but sure."

"Good luck with whatever you need to do at home," Ren added. Ryuji grinned at them both and left, and he and Ann made their way to the diner, falling into step beside each other.

There was always something about Ann that felt familiar to him, something that made Ren feel comfortable around her. Fighting together at the castle seemed to have only exaggerated the feeling. Strange as it was, there was the sense that he'd already known her from somewhere, a sense that wouldn't go away.

"It's really weird," she admitted, as the waitress handed them their meals. "Everything's changed so much since I met you. I mean, there's the obvious in that we gained supernatural powers and took down Kamoshida and all, but with you, Ryuji, and Morgana by my side, I feel so much more confident than before. Like things can't hurt me as much."

"I feel the same," Ren admitted. "I… didn't have many friends before I transferred here, even before I was falsely convicted."

Ann blinked at him. "Really? I wouldn't have expected." Ren chuckled.

"Yeah. Just one friend actually, unless you count all the cats in Inaba. My hometown," he added, at her blank look. "And those cats were a lot friendlier than most of the people there. Especially since most people aren't a fan of, you know," he gestured at himself. "People with Brit blood."

"Don't I know it." Ann sighed, resting her face in one of her hands, elbow propped up on the table. "Dad always said she was lucky that Mom could overlook him having a Britannian Dad. As if that was the biggest breaking point of all his relationships. Even before I told anyone I was part Britannian, they could always guess by my hair and call me names. And it's not like many Britannians I've met have been much better, once they know I'm mostly Japanese."

Ren knew what she meant. While he had the fortune of looking Japanese, everyone in their small town knew about everyone else, which meant he couldn't escape the name calling anyways.

Still. He could feel Arsene, Saki Mitama, Archangel, Leprechaun, and his other personas, their power swirling around inside him.

Things had changed, since he first got Arsene. Things he'd only just started to notice. He could see better at night without the Third Eye ability Igor gave him, could lift more and move faster than before.

He mentioned this to Ann, who nodded. "I've been getting those feelings too. I should've burned my hand on the stove the other day, but it only felt a little hot, and my skin just came away a bit red. Not to mention Ryuji's accidentally shocked me way more than is normal. Do you think our persona abilities are leaking into the real world?"

"That's my best guess," he agreed. "The tangent I got sidetracked off of is that those things don't define us. We're stronger than we've given ourselves credit for, I think."

"You're right." Ann took a sip of her drink and smiled. "We're kinda like Kallen Kozuki, really. Living a double life and fighting for what's right, even if it is on a much smaller scale." She set her drink down. "I want to be strong like that. Strong enough to fight for what I believe in, no matter what. Strong enough to shrug off all the horrible things people say about me."

"We can get there together," Ren offered. "It might be hard sometimes, but if we're going to help others as Phantom Thieves, then we should try anyways."

"I'm counting on you, then!" Ann beamed, and Ren could feel the Lovers confidant strengthening.

* * *

Sojiro tossed him a key as soon as he got back to LeBlanc, and Ren caught it in one of his hands. "That's the key to this place. I can't keep waiting until you get home. Just don't start any fires, okay?"

They both knew Sojiro didn't lock up anyways until well after Ren usually got home. He took the gift for what it was, and decided not to snark back this time. "Of course. Thanks." Sojiro's lips perked up, and he turned away towards the TV, where an artist named Madarame was being featured.

Still, the newfound freedom at night was something Ren quickly discovered he enjoyed very much. He bought himself a couple new books, as well as a new game, so that hopefully the next time he and Ryuji played, he would fare better. Not to mention finally having the time to stock part of the fridge with food he could use to cook for himself, if he got the time.

* * *

"Still nothing on the phansite?" Ren asked Ryuji, who was scrolling on his phone and frowning.

"Nada. Just stuff about annoying parents or siblings or spouses. Guess it would be too much to ask for a name and a palace location, right?"

"And we still have exams around the corner," Ann pointed out. "Not really the best time for us to choose a target." She kept scrolling. "Oh, here's one with a name! No location though."

Ren turned to Morgana. "Didn't you say there was a way to interact with shadows without being in a palace?" Ann and Ryuji sat up straighter, looking interested.

"In a sense," Morgana confirmed. "It's a bit more complicated than that, and it's easier to show you- someone's coming." He ducked back in Ren's bag, and they turned to see the door open and a third year with brown hair and red eyes walk out.

"This place is off limits, you know," she said, her voice soft.

Ryuji waved her off. "We'll get out of here once, we're done chattin'. Anyways, what's miss student council president want with us?"

So this was the Student Council president. Makoto Niijima, right? Ren was pretty sure that was her name.

Niijima looked them over critically. "Hm. The troublemaker, the girl of rumor, and the infamous transfer student. An interesting combination, I think." Ren immediately went on alert, tensing, before forcing himself to relax.

"So you believe in those rumors and stereotypes then?" He asked casually. "Just barge in on us like this because you're listening to those rumors?"

"Oh that's typical." Ryuji snorted. "As if miss prez would care about us otherwise."

Niijima stilled, but then continued. "You all seemed to get to know Kamoshida-sensei pretty well."

"Funny way of saying that he sexually harassed me, beat up Ryuji, and spread rumors about Ren, but yeah." Ann looked _pissed_. "Amazing, that you still call him Kamoshida-_sensei_, really. What, does he still have your respect or something?"

"That's - that isn't what this conversation is about." Niijima tried to redirect, addressing Ren. "I heard about that - that he used a volleyball team member to spread rumors about you. Don't you hate him? Kamoshida, I mean."

"Of course. Don't you?" Ren countered. "Or is your college transcript all that matters, so you can turn a blind eye? You're not very subtle, you know. You wouldn't be wording your questions like that if you weren't looking for the Phantom Thieves." Niijima's eyes widened. "We're not them, if that's what you're wondering. Just three kids who got horribly harassed by a teacher and are glad he's gone." He narrowed his eyes. "But I really do hope you aren't this callous to his other victims."

"Agreed." Ryuji scoffed. "Asking if we hate the guy, bringing up all the bad labels he gave to us. What the hell is your problem?"

Niijima actually took a step back. "I didn't mean to offend. As student council president, it's my job to see how the students are faring after everything. Especially since those calling card-esque things have elevated all these problems."

"I didn't think you'd care so much about all that tactless stuff, Niijima-sempai," Ann offered. "Maybe you're getting just as worked up over them as everyone else?"

"I wouldn't say it was tactless," Ryuji muttered so only Ren could hear. He patted his friend's hand reassuringly.

Niijima narrowed her eyes. "At least try to understand my position. Being forced to deal with this horseplay…"

"Horseplay?" Ann practically snarled.

"Try and understand our position as well," Ren offered coolly. "Here we are, trying to recover from the trauma one of our teachers gave us, getting us in trouble because he felt like it, when no authority figure did anything about it, and here you come along, trying to rehash what we went through and get us in trouble because we're the easy targets for you. Besides, if you really cared, you would've tried to help _before_ Kamoshida was arrested."

Niijima didn't seem to have much to say to that, looking at him and biting her lip, holding back words she obviously wanted to say. Eventually she let out a small sigh through her teeth and regained her composure. "Oh, by the way. It's been decided that this place will be off limits now due to the incident. I heard some people have been coming up here without permission, after all." She gave them a small, insincere smile. "That's all. Sorry to have interrupted you." She walked out, closing the doors behind her.

"What was that about?" Ann wondered, irritation still clear in her voice.

Ren looked at where Niijima had just been. "The teachers are making her investigate. Maybe even Principal Neck." They all looked at him. "You heard what she said, "being forced to deal with this horseplay". She's not investigating by choice."

"Maybe, but she still pisses me off." Ryuji scowled. "Snooping around like that after doing nothing about Kamoshida, acting all high and mighty."

"She seems sharp, too." Morgana mused. "We'll need to be cautious around her. Although, that reminds me." He jumped out of the bag. "I have somewhere interesting to show all of you. I promised I'd show you how to find shadows that don't have palaces, right?"

"That's right!" Ann perked up. "One last Phantom Thieves harrah before midterms!"

* * *

Morgana had them go down to the subway station, where a few people were milling about as usual.

Ryuji looked around curiously. "What did you bring us here for? And isn't it kinda crowded to try and pull off something?"

"Don't worry," Morgana assured them. "Unless people are specifically focusing on us, not only will they not be dragged into the metaverse, but they won't notice that we've disappeared either."

"Convenient."

"Isn't it?" Morgana gave the cat equivalent of a smirk. "Now, pull up the phansite to that one request with a name on it."

Ann pulled it up. "Here it is. "I don't know what to do about an ex who's stalking me. His name is Natsuhiko Nakanohara." Says he's a teller at City Hall."

"A government worker who's stalking people is a fine target," Ren voiced. "Is everyone okay with that?" He received affirmatives from the other Thieves. "So his location would either be city hall or wherever the person who sent this lives."

"We don't need a location, this time," Morgana corrected. "Just put in his name, and type 'Mementos' in the keyword part."

Ryuji typed it in. "We got a hit!"

The world around them shifted like it did when they'd entered the palace. After a moment of dizziness, Ren rubbed his eyes and looked around to see that everyone else was gone. They were the only four in the train station. He looked down to see that he was still in his regular clothes.

"This is so weird." Ann rocked back and forth on her feet. "It feels like I'm walking on air."

"Is this that Nakanohara guy's palace?" Ryuji wondered.

Morgana, in his mascot form, shook his head. "That's half right, but half wrong. Mementos is different from the normal type of palaces. Think of it as the collective palace of everyone who's desires aren't distorted enough to form a palace of their own."

"So this is how the other possible persona user could've taken down so many people without going through all their palaces," Ann said, as though reading Ren's mind.

"That's right. And there's tons of Shadows down here." Morgana headed to the entrance of the subway. "Come on, let's head down. The shadows here lurk underground. I don't quite understand why, but maybe it's because they're drawn to something."

Something told Ren they were eventually going to find out what.

As they made their way underground into the subway, their clothes changed to their Thieves' outfits. Joker could feel his gloves and mask appear on his person as though they were always meant to be there. A look at his companions showed that they were decked out in leather jackets and Knightmare pilot suits as well.

The station got darker as they went down farther, and as they approached the edge of what looked to be a tipping point, red and tendrils that looked like veins spread out and climbed up the walls and ceiling, giving off a severely unsettling feeling.

"The hell is this place?" Skull asked, voice low, as though something unwanted could hear them. "It's super creepy. And our clothes changed too. They didn't when we first went into the metaverse."

"Does that mean the shadows know we're here?" Panther's tone wavered with nerves.

Mona smiled. "Since the moment we stepped in. Don't worry, they don't come up to this floor, so we're safe up here. I've investigated this place a number of times, so I can confirm it. It's a different story once we go down further though. The place is simply teaming with them."

Skull squinted down to the lower floors. "This place looks huge though. Are we gonna have to just walk around until we find Nakanohara?"

Mona hopped off the escalator where he was perched and landed a bit away from them. "Well, I see the time has finally come." He waved his paws around dramatically. "Morgana….transfoooooorrrrmmm!"

Mona leapt into the air, turned into a puff of smoke, and came down as a black van, complete with metal cat ears and a metal tail. They all stared at him blankly.

Skull was the first to find his voice. "How… what the fuck?"

Mona gave what must've been the van equivalent of a shrug. "Don't ask me. Apparently cats turning into buses is a common enough cognition among the general public that I can turn into one myself." His voice clearly came out of the van/bus, even if Joker couldn't identify the direct source.

"That makes sense." Skull and Panther turned to him, surprised, and Joker smirked. "You've seen that Studio Ghibli movie, right?" Their looks turned to understanding.

"Oooh."

"Now this makes sense."

Mona blinked his headlight eyes. "It does?" I've never seen a movie like that. Or at least, I don't remember if I have."

"I'll show it to you sometime," Joker promised. "I think you'll like it. Now, do you drive yourself, or do we need to do the driving?"

"Sorry, that's on you. I might be a magic bus, but I'm not a magic bus that can drive myself."

Panther looked at them with wide eyes. "Do either of you know how to drive?"

Skull shrugged. "I've driven in video games."

"I've driven go karts and golf carts," Joker offered. Panther winced.

"Yeah, I think that makes you the most experienced person here." And so Joker climbed into the front seat, Panther took the seat next to him, and Skull sat in back. Mona had a switch instead of a key, and his engine sounded like a deep purr.

They drove along the tracks, in between columns of what looked like unnerving veins, strange vortexes of wind around them, and stopped occasionally to open stray chests. Rather than the knights of Kamoshida's castle, the shadows here were organized into lumbering masses that could be ambushed by driving right into them.

Eventually they found themselves at a fork in the path, where one of the ends led into a swirling red and black vortex. "This is it," Mona told them. "This is Nakanohara's distortion."

"Are we all ready?" Joker asked. At the affirmative, he and the others exited the Mona-van, who went back to his usual form, and they made their way through the vortex.

At the end of the path stood a man in a suit, shadows swirling up around him.

"That's Nakanohara's Shadow?" Skull muttered. Mona nodded.

"I don't know how much evil he's done, but if he's really stalking other people, we should make him stop," Panther decided. As they made their way forwards, they could hear the man muttering under his breath.

"She's mine… she's mine…" He looked up as they were nearly on top of him, glaring with golden eyes. "Who are you?"

"We got sent to deal with a stalker," Joker drawled. "And you seem to fit the bill."

"Haven't you ever considered how your ex feels?" Panther snapped.

Nakanohara's Shadow scowled. "Oh shut up! She's my property, I can do what I want with her! It's not like she didn't treat me like a plaything. What's wrong with me doing the same?"

"He calls her his property…?" Skull's disbelief turned to anger, and he cracked his knuckles. "Can we beat him up now? I'm so ready to start changing this bastard's heart."

"There are a million people worse than me out there," the Shadow spat. "What about Madarame, huh? You're going after me, but letting him off the hook? He took everything from me!"

_Madarame?_ Joker was pretty sure he'd heard the name before, and filed it away for later. Before they could interrogate the Shadow more, he dissolved into black goo, before reforming as a smaller orange monster.

"Everyone get ready!" Joker drew his knife and quickly listed all of his available personas in his mind. Which one he would use would depend on what this new form of shadow was weak to.

"It's a dog eat dog world out there! You'll get crushed under the weight of it!" The Shadow crowed. "Magry!"

Joker felt himself slammed onto the ground, the wind knocked out of him. The force kept pushing and pushing, until it slammed his head down before letting up. He scrambled to his feet. "This thing uses gravity attacks. Panther, use one of your debuffs, so it can't hit us as hard. Skull, distract it with physical attacks. Mona, you're on healing. I've got a persona it should be weak to."

"Got it! Carmen!" Panther ripped off her mask, and Carmen burst forth. "Tarunda!" Light energy circled the shadow, before slamming into the monster, who stumbled in surprise. Skull took the opportunity to hit it with his newly bought rod, sending it flying back about a foot.

"Zorro, Media!" Joker felt his bruises from the Shadows attack fading as he found the persona he was searching for.

"Leprechaun! Magna!" Leprechaun appeared above him, and the earth rumbled underneath the Shadow's feet before bursting upwards, knocking it onto the ground. "Everyone, all out attack!"

They rushed Nakanohara's Shadow at once, ducking and diving around each other as they hit their target, weaving around as though they had been fighting together all their lives. When they were done, the monster was still standing, but sorely bruised, beaten, and frayed.

"How dare you! She's _mine_! Tarukaja!" Orange light burst around the creature, filling it with more power and energy.

Panther was quick to react. "Oh no you don't! Dekaja!" The light around the Shadow dispersed just as fast as it had come.

One more earth spell should do the trick then. "Magna!" The shadow was too slow to dodge the crumbling earth, and they launched their second all out attack. As Nakanohara's shadow slammed to the ground, defeated, Joker couldn't help but smirk. "Show's over."

"A little dramatic, don't you think?" Panther laughed, as they watched Nakanohara's shadow reform into something resembling a human again.

Joker grinned at her. "Maybe. But it _was_ kinda fun. You should try it."

"I-I was - I was wrong." Shadow Nakanohara stumbled to his feet. "Please, please forgive me. The evil teacher used me, then threw me out on the streets. I was lucky to get any sort of job, after he ruined me like that. That's what caused my fixation on her. I - I just didn't want anyone to throw me out again."

"And this Madarame guy was your teacher?" Mona guessed. The Shadow nodded pitifully. "Can you give us his first name, by any chance?"

"Are you going after him?" The Shadow looked hopeful. "It's Ichiryusai. Ichiryusai Madarame."

"We'll look into him," Joker promised. "That doesn't excuse your actions. You may have been hurt and used before, but even if it wasn't your fault, that doesn't change the fact that what you did was wrong."

Panther frowned at him. "She had nothing to do with your mess. You shouldn't have dragged her into that."

"You're right, I know that now." The Shadow looked down. "I'll put an end to my love for her."

"And your creepy ways," Skull added under his breath.

"If you can, please change Madarame's heart," Shadow Nakanohara said softly. "Before more people fall victim to him." With that, the shadow disappeared into blue light, leaving behind a soft glowing ball of white.

"What's that shining thing?" Skull wondered.

"That's the bud of a treasure," Morgana explained. "If we had left it alone, it may one day have grown into a full blown palace. This should make a pretty good reward, don't you think?" Joker grabbed at the light, and it transformed into a shiny pearl. "Iwai would probably buy that."

"Won't he wonder where we're getting all this stuff?" Panther asked.

Skull waved her worry off. "No sweat. He's not the type to ask questions. And hey, we got the job done! Hopefully the woman will post on the sight again, so we'll know if it worked."

Mona stepped in front of them and held up a paw. "Before we go back, there's something I want to show you. Don't worry, it won't take long."

"You have a map already?" Joker guessed.

Mona shook his head. "No point. This place is the cognition of an entire city. It's constantly changing and shifting. Mapping out a layout would be impossible. You just need to keep going down."

They took the Mona-bus and followed the cat's directions, moving further into mementos, and ambushing shadows along the way. Joker even got a new persona in Slime. They got out of their catbus and moved down the next pair of escalators, as dark trains passed them by.

At the end of the walkway was a wall between constantly moving trains, solid black with more glowing red lines running all over it. "This is what I wanted to check out," Mona admitted. "It looks like a weird wall, right? But if my hunch is correct…" He placed his paw on the wall, and it slid open.

The metaverse navigator chimed on their phones. "_A new section of mementos has opened. Updating metaverse guidance now_."

Mona grinned. "Just as I thought. This wall wouldn't budge the last time I came here. And it'd be weird for the deepest part of mementos to be some normal place like this, wouldn't it?"

"I dunno." Panther looked around them. "I wouldn't exactly call this place normal. But why do you think it opened now?"

"This is the public's cognition, right? Mona couldn't go further in because no one thought about him," Joker guessed. "But people know about us now, as the Phantom Thieves, so we have more access to their Shadows."

"Well said, Joker. That's my guess too." They all looked down into what seemed to be enveloping darkness. "But we should stop now. We've already accomplished our goal for today."

"We'll come back later," Joker decided.

Skull tapped his leg, looking thoughtful. "Hey, Mona. The shadows only hang out down here underground, right? Up there is just an empty city, as super weird as that sounds. And no one can see us enter mementos, right?"

"They can if they're directly looking for us," Mona corrected. "But essentially, yes."

"So since miss prez is snooping in our business and might check the school roof again, why not meet up in mementos? No one's gonna overhear us there."

Joker blinked. "That's a brilliant idea, actually. I can't believe I didn't think of it."

Skull grinned, looking bashful under the mask. "I can have my moments. You're super smart and all, but no one can think of everything. That's why you got us!"

"If we check for Niijima before heading up to the roof, we could even still meet up there without worrying," Panther added, clearly liking the idea. "And if she snoops too much, we'll just move somewhere else."

"Sounds perfect." Joker looked at his teammates fondly. "For now, I think we should head back to the real world. Like Mona said, we accomplished our goal. Not to mention we'll most likely need to save energy for fighting shadows on the way back." He looked at Mona. "Anything else you can tell us before we leave?"

Mona frowned in thought. "Well, my memories are pretty fuzzy on the 'how's' and 'whys'. But we need to figure out what lies at the bottom of mementos no matter what. Mementos is the source of all palaces. Palaces like Kamoshida's with a single ruler? They didn't used to exist. And if we can get to the bottom of the biggest distortion, I'm certain my appearance will…!" He broke off, looking at them with wide eyes.

After a moment Joker leaned down and patted Mona's head. "We'll help you figure it out. Whatever caused your distortion, we'll fix it." He severely doubted Mona was actually human, but the cat was clearly unhappy with how he was now, and figuring out the truth might answer some big questions Joker had. Besides…

"Of course we will. I mean, you might be kinda annoying, but you're part of the team! We're not gonna leave you hanging like that," Skull said.

Panther bent down next to them. "You're our friend, Mona. We won't let you down."

Mona teared up. "Guys…" Joker rubbed the mascot's soft fur, and felt the Magician confidant strengthening.

"By the way, I've been wondering." Panther straightened up. "Are you a boy or a girl, Mona? I mean, it doesn't matter, but it's kinda hard to tell."

"Maybe he's a bus?" Joker offered. She smiled brightly.

"That is a possibility!"

Skull held up his hands in a "what can you do?" gesture. "I wish I could deny it, but I can't be sure, really!"

"You jerks, I'm a boy!" Mona huffed. "Honestly, let's just go."

* * *

"So, this is why everyone thinks about cats and busses together?" Morgana sat on Ren's lap, a step up from their usual nighttime routine where the cat would inevitably end up sleeping on his chest, as they watched _My Neighbor Totoro_. "Well, I can see what all the fuss is about now. But where did that cat even come from?"

"Kind of a long story." Honestly, Ren hadn't really cared when he'd watched the movie as a kid. It was still just as great now, but Morgana had constantly been bringing up questions he'd never bothered to find the answers to.

When the movie was finished, Morgana turned to him, looking excited. "Are there any other of these movies? Not for tonight, since I know you promised you'd meet with Mishima tomorrow, but some other time?"

"From Studio Ghibli? Yeah. None with the catbus in them though." He laughed at Morgana's pout. "Don't worry, they're all really good. We can watch them together another time."

* * *

"You okay, dude? You look exhausted." Ryuji stared at him, concern in his eyes. The blond boy had texted him saying he couldn't concentrate, and was wondering if Ren wanted to work out with him. Ren, who knew he could easily pass the exams without studying at all, agreed.

Ren sighed. "It was a long day yesterday. Hanging out with Mishima and learning more about the phansite was nice. We worked together on a way to get the requests we can actually fulfill filtered to us. But then I had to work at Big Bang Burger, and it was an absolute nightmare. I barely got any training, I was the only damn employee around, and I didn't even get paid as much as I did at the flower shop a couple days ago." He was really only there to see if he could run into the politician guy again. After that, Ren was absolutely going to resign,

"Customer service is a bitch," Ryuji agreed. "I can see why you'd be tired after that." He narrowed his eyes in an expression of mock anger. "Although, I heard you and Morgana watched Totoro without me!"

Ren held his hands up in surrender. "Hey, he wanted to see it badly! I didn't realize you'd be so interested."

"Yeah yeah." His friend rolled his eyes playfully. "Next time, come over to my place, and we can have a real movie night. I think my mom's been trying to hint that she wants to meet you anyways."

"Really?" Ren couldn't imagine why.

Ryuji punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Yeah, of course! I haven't really had any friends since, you know." He gestured at his bad leg. "And I kinda talked about you to her. Not Thieves stuff, but like, how we go get ramen together, and how Ann dragged us both around shopping that one time. And it's not like we've ever had anyone over, so…" he trailed off, coughing awkwardly.

"Never?" Ren prompted gently.

"Almost never," Ryuji confirmed softly. "My, ah, my dad left us, but before he did, he was a real piece of shit. Would get drunk and pound on me and mom. So, not really a good idea to have people over. And after he left… well, I had the track team over once, but, you know." There was a pained look in his eyes. "Things didn't really work out with them."

Ren swallowed, trying to think of just what he could say to a confession like that. He couldn't help but feel sympathetic for his friend, who was honest and kind, and didn't deserve any of that. He also wanted to find out if Ryuji's father had a palace of his own.

Then again… would Ryuji even appreciate that? He sounded more like he was glad his dad was out of his life in general. Working on a palace like that might just bring back old issues for him.

"I'm sorry," he finally said. "I don't know what that's like. I've never been hurt like that by my parents before. But I do-" he grasped for the right words. "I do know a bit about that, I guess. I mean. My parents… I was unplanned. My sister wasn't. But she, um." He thought of the urn on the fireplace that his parents loved more than they loved him. "She's gone, and it kinda broke them. So, they, you know. Mostly ignore my existence."

It's hard to live up to a dead person. Especially one who can never do wrong, because they can't do anything anymore. Ren knew that better than most.

"That's awful," Ryuji said after a moment. "Your parent's sound really shitty. I mean, I'm really sorry about your sister, but that's no excuse for what they did to you." Ren sends him a thankful smile, which he instantly returns. "Maybe we can start the shitty parents club. See if Mishima can make t-shirts."

That actually startles a laugh out of Ren. Ryuji grins. "Seriously though, you should come over sometime. I'm sure mom would love to have you."

"I will," Ren agrees, and he feels the Chariot confidant growing that much stronger.

* * *

"It seems like you're attending school seriously."

Ren turned to see Niijima approaching him, and wished the train would arrive sooner. "Obviously." He tried to keep as much of his irritation out of his voice as he could

"Hmm." Niijima seemed unfazed. "You also seem rather close with Takamaki-san, if you're both coming to school together. You just transferred here though… I guess you two must really click."

"Well, we are friends," he said dryly. And then, because he was feeling a little petty, "Maybe you wouldn't understand, but friends do things like that."

Niijima huffed, as though trying to pretend she wasn't affected. "I see. You seemed closer than that yesterday morning." Ann had stuck close by him yesterday, confiding that she felt like someone was watching her. They had looked around, but seen no one.

Knowing the next thing Niijima would try and bring up was their common link to Kamoshida, Ren decided to change tactics. He put on his most innocent expression. "Niijima-sempai, are you trying to play matchmaker? It sounds like you're insinuating that Ann and I should be together."

That did the trick. Niijima's eyes widened and she took a step back, flushing a bit. "That's not-! Never mind. Closer inspection should clear things up. Goodbye." With that, she quickly left.

Still, the conversation proved that she was still onto them. Ren would let the other know that they should move their meeting place away from the roof after all, mementos or not.

* * *

C.C. came back again for coffee, and Ren decided to test his brewing skills and see if he was getting better.

She tasted his coffee. "It's fine, I suppose. It doesn't have the original flavor that made this place so interesting. In fact, it's very average."

"Gee, thanks." Despite his words, Ren took her criticism under advisement. He sat down in the booth across from her. "You've been coming back here more often, lately."

"It's partially for the coffee and curry," C.C. told him. "Nothing will ever surpass my love of pizza, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate a good cup or dish."

Ren raised an eyebrow. _Pizza, huh?_ He'd admit, he wasn't expecting that. "And what else are you partially here for?"

"To see you, of course. What else?" She set the coffee down. "You've been making friends. And you seem happy with them. Is it because you've been going into the metaverse together? Or do you just pretend so that you can use their power?"

_Excuse me?_ Ren glared at her. "Of course I trust them. If I was the type of person who only used my friends for my own gain, I wouldn't be going around trying to help others, would I? Besides, what right do you have to question my friendships?"

"More than most, certainly." There was a glimmer of amusement in C.C.'s eyes. "And you act like I meant that in a bad way. I wouldn't fault you for it."

"Great endorsement for yourself, right there," Ren scoffed. "And really, bold words coming from someone who insists they know me. If you actually want me to remember something, maybe help me do that instead of just making assumptions and acting cryptic."

For the first time since they'd started talking, C.C. actually looked surprised. Then she looked extremely sad, and Ren hated the small part of himself that seemed to ache at that.

"You're right," she agreed. "I suppose I did assume too much." For the next few minutes, they were silent, C.C. sipping her coffee, and Ren looking anywhere but at her.

"If you want to know more about why I seem to know you, and what your feelings mean, you should go check out Ashford Academy," C.C. said suddenly.

Ren looked up, surprised. "The elite Britannian private school? Why?"

"They have some of the answers you seek there," was all she would disclose. But at least it was something more than what had been empty promises up until now.

The Aeon confidant grew, and Ren grew more conflicted along with it.

* * *

The night before the start of exams came about, and Ren found himself going on a walk through Yongen to clear his head. It was a crisp evening, a few people milling about in the streets, as streaks of red and purple started to paint the sky.

It wasn't anything like the open starry nights of Inaba, but it was peaceful, in its own way.

Something pricked in the back of Ren's head.

One of his current personas, Archangel, had Psychic abilities. Maybe that's why he was able to sense it. Whatever the case was, there was an uneasy feeling, a shiver down his spine.

He was being watched.

* * *

**And so Makoto finally shows up. Oh, Makoto. The contrast between her first scenes and later scenes in the game is frankly stark. I enjoy her character, even if our protagonists don't at the moment, and I'm going to have a lot of fun writing her. Also, Special mention to _My Neighbor Totoro_, because that movie's the shit and Morgana should know what lets him turn into a bus. **

**If anyone is curious, yes, Gravity and Earth spells are included in this au. Why? That'll come up later, and hopefully make more sense. Personally, I hope they make a return in the next Persona game.**

**And so ends the Kamoshida arc! We'll have a brief interlude before moving onto our second arc, and all these small changes will be piling up, before some major differences between the game and this au start to occur. It's going to be a lot of fun, and I hope you enjoy!**

**Next Chapter: _Interlude: Kaguya Sumeragi_**

**I hope you enjoyed, and don't forget to review! It's what keeps these chapters coming so fast!**

* * *

**Answers to comments:**

**catakbek06: (1) It's a wild Kaguya for sure! Then again, when isn't she? I'm glad you liked the scene where Ren figures out about the breakdowns and Shido. Nunnally and Zero/Suzaku are in Britannia at the moment, but they'll be meeting their old friend/brother eventually! It's going to be an interesting meeting, that's for sure. And Cornelia will be showing up eventually, although I'll admit she won't be coming into the picture for a while. (2) Ren's gonna have a though time, to say the least. As for other's reactions... well. :) In general, thank you for your awesome comments!**

**Gojosin: I was actually going to bring this up in story shortly, but I don't mind answering now! All main persona games took place in this world. Yu Narukami solved the Midnight Channel mystery in Inaba four years before this story takes place, The Dark Hour, Nyx, and SEES happened two years before that, and Persona 1 and 2 happened during the occupation of Japan, before R1 takes place. Each is at least slightly different, especially the first two, due to the change in world, but they all did happen!**

**Ambar576: I've been waiting to write Akechi's interactions with the Phantom Thieves for a while now, honestly. Let's just say it won't be going the same as in canon, for several reasons. And no worries, I didn't already discuss it. Ren looks like he does in P5. There's another reason Kaguya recognized him, which will be discussed next chapter. And Jeremiah will totally be making an appearance. **

**CheesyPotatoFries: Yes, essentially. They died within the same couple years, so it makes sense that they'd be around the same age (At least, those who are in the PT, and therefore more focused on).**

**nobodyreallyimportant: Who Indeed~? Ren's certainly got a high guts stat than he started out with in vanilla.**

**Saint Sita: I'll admit, I'm not quite sure what you mean? But Ren's got a horrible reputation, he doesn't have any fangirls. So, no, I suppose?**

**Wolfpackersson09: You're correct!**


	7. Interlude: Kaguya Sumeragi

**It's interlude time! I've been excited for this chapter for a while now. Kaguya's always a ton of fun to write, and I'm always eager to reveal more about how the world of Geass and the world of Persona blend together. I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

_On Reincarnation: Reincarnation is a troupe as old as time, used in various books, plays, movies, and many other forms of media. There is a certain romantic element to be found in it, that a person can return and reunite with their loved ones in the mortal world, even after their demise._

_However, there is a curious element to the concept of Reincarnation that has persisted throughout history: that those who change the world so drastically things will never be the same again are selected by a higher power to be reborn, and that those who knew that person well could instantly recognize the Reincarnate through a mere glance. Debate on whether others surrounding that person could Reincarnate as well is subject for debate, and has never quite been agreed on in this strange mythos. Nor has this strange tale ever been truly proven..._

_Richard Peon, Exploring the Stories of the World, published 2021_

* * *

As the fifth hour of deliberation passed them by, Kaguya closed her eyes and managed to keep her sigh internal as another representative droned on, which was no mean feat. The debate had gone on for hours now, with no signs of stopping. Not that this was unusual - election year was upon them, after all.

While the Kyoto houses had regained their previous prominence in Japanese Society, they had mostly taken a back seat since Japan had regained its freedom. Still, they continued to hold massive amounts of influence, both in and out of Japan. When Kaguya had finally retired from her position as leader of the UFN, she had remained head of her house, and therefore still played an active role in Japan's internal and international politics, even after all these years.

The people voted for their Prime Minister, of course, as they had since Ohgi had been elected. But the six houses would need to endorse a candidate, and their choice could greatly sway the wills of the people.

"I don't understand why you hesitate," her closest ally, Eito Kirihara, was saying. "Shido is clearly the best of the bunch this year. Have you not heard his promises, and his plans on how to enact them? What other candidate is so dedicated to this nation?"

"He may have lofty goals and plans, but the way he speaks, I almost expect him to break the world peace in order to achieve them," Munakata fired back contemptuously. "He would drag this nation down if he did that!"

Kaguya had to agree. Fifteen years had passed, and yet sometimes it felt as though the world was walking on a tightrope, waiting for something to boil over. Human nature, she supposed. Part of the reason nothing had happened, especially as time crawled on, was because every nation knew if they were to break the peace first, the rest of the world would be aligned against them. And as the years went by, this unspoken rule only grew stronger and more probable.

Shido's plans focused on putting Japan before everything, including the rest of the world, and he didn't seem the type to care how that affected their standing in the eyes of their global peers.

And there was something about the man that simply didn't sit right with her. At thirty years old, and having been in politics for over half her life, Kaguya was inclined to trust her instincts.

Still, Eito had been an insistent supporter of him for some time now, and the Sumeragis and Kiriharas had been allies for too long to break their alliance over an election. It would reflect badly on both their houses, and leave them vulnerable to the less open-minded of the house leaders.

Not that Eito Kirihara was very open-minded himself. Far inferior to his two predecessors, the middle-aged man had strange opinions and more secrets than were ever healthy. They all had skeletons in their closets, of course. But while Kaguya's consisted of things like falling for the late Demon Emperor and the evoker she hid on her body to summon her persona, his were far more sinister. She had people looking into it, but the man was good at covering his tracks.

The arguing continued along, and Kaguya sighed for real, before getting everyone's attention. "We seem to be at an impasse here. If nothing will get done today, we should wait and gather more information about each candidate, see if anything changes, before making a decision."

Eito looked at her politely, and Kaguya found she could only see emptiness past the mask. "Have you made your decision on who to support, Sumeragi-san?"

"I have decided to withhold my decision until I know more," she said primly. Something like annoyance flashed across his face.

As they finally dispersed, Eito took her aside. "Our houses are the most closely aligned out of Kyoto, are they not, Sumeragi-san?" He said smoothly. "You must know where I'm coming from by backing Shido. Would it not be a good idea to show solidarity on our decision? And as the head of Kyoto houses, I'm sure the others would listen to you."

Years of experience let Kaguya keep her poker face. "I completely understand where you are coming from, Kirihara-san. But I was not lying when I said that I want to wait and see before I cast my vote."

"You always seemed to decide so quickly before," he tried.

"Before, I had a good enough feeling about one candidate that I felt confident in doing so," she replied. It wasn't a lie - she simply didn't mention that she had a bad feeling about Shido now. "Shido has yet to impress me enough. Perhaps that will change in time."

Eito's smile was oh-so insincere. "I'm sure he will, Sumeragi-san." With that, he turned and left with his guard.

Kaguya shook her head. _If only you could see the slime who now leads your house, Taizo. You'd be furious_. She couldn't imagine her former mentor sparing Eito Kirihara anything but utter contempt.

Thankfully, a much nicer sight awaited her when she left the meeting room. "Ah, Hifumi! We're finished!"

The dark haired girl looked up at her with a bright smile. "Kaguya! How did it go? If you can tell me, of course."

"Oh, there's nothing much to say." Kaguya sniffed. "Everyone is too conflicted to make a decision, as usual. But enough about me. Your Shogi match?"

Hifumi blinked. "You knew about that?" Kaguya waved her off.

"Of course I did! I go to see them whenever I can, after all." She'd really much rather have been at Hifumi's match than listen to her colleagues for so long, but such was the life she'd chosen. "Well? How did this one go?"

Hifumi's face lit up as she spoke. "I did really well. I may not be the best at the meet yet, but I'm getting there."

"Fantastic! As expected." Kaguya lowered her voice conspiratorially. "Would our rising star like some dinner befitting such an accomplishment? My treat, of course." The poor girl's mother was too strict on her, honestly.

"I wish," Hifumi admitted. "Mother wants me to attend a dinner with her tonight. I'll need to get ready for that. I just thought I'd stop by and say hello."

"Of course. I really appreciate it." Kaguya squeezed her hand gently. "We'll find another time. Best of luck to you."

Hifumi Togo and her mother were a part of the Kirihara house. Not so direct as to be in the line of succession, but close enough that they were invited to all sorts of parties, gatherings, and meetings. Hifumi's mother, Kaguya knew, worked closely with Eito and had brought her and her daughter deeper into Kyoto business as of late.

Hifumi, however, seemed much less inclined to muddle through politics, and far more eager to play Shogi, or read a good book. Despite this, she and Kaguya had hit it off quickly after meeting, and Kaguya had become a mentor of sorts to her, helping her navigate the pitfalls of the world her mother had dragged her into.

She hoped that when what Eito was doing would finally be brought to light, that Hifumi wouldn't be dragged down with him.

Kaguya turned to Sugino, her chief guard. "Tomorrow is Children's Day, isn't it? I think I'll take the day for myself, go somewhere nice."

"Of course." Sugino frowned. "But at least allow us to accompany you. All this talk of mental shutdowns and breakdowns… it would be risky to go on your own."

"Of course." Kaguya would allow him that. They both knew she could give his security detail the slip anytime she wanted, but Sugino was loyal and patient, and she would let him have his peace of mind this time.

* * *

While there were many places she wanted to try, Kaguya chose a rather famous buffet, donning regular yet still respectable clothes. Her guards were in suits, but given the usual clientele of the buffet, they blended right in.

"Come now Sugino-san! A few extra calories won't kill you," she teased, loading her plate with delicious food.

Sugino looked conflicted. "I apologize, Sumeragi-san, I can't possibly eat this much." Another one of her guards, much younger than both of them, snickered behind her. After all, poor Sugino's plate was stacked high with foods Kaguya decided he would like.

Chuckling to herself, she set her plate down on the nearest table, before reaching over to select the newest dish that had caught her eye.

Before she could reach it, though, someone jostled her sharply from behind, and Kaguya could've sworn she heard the indignant meow of a _cat_. Excited by the prospect of meeting the feline, as well as whoever had been brave enough to smuggle a pet inside such a high class establishment, she turned around.

…

…

…

_No._

No, that was-

That was _impossible_.

Kaguya had heard the stories about Reincarnation. After learning about Geass, experiencing the Dark Hour, summoning Selene, and seven years of a strong alliance with the Kirijo Group, Kaguya had taken the time to research as many magical and unexplained stories that littered their world as she could, and the idea of someone who truly changed the world coming back was of course one of them.

A large part of that myth was the idea that those who had a close connection to the Reincarnate would be able to recognize them at a glance.

And-

And Lelouch vi Britannia, _Zero_, was right in front of her.

He was different, slightly, when it came to appearance. His dark hair was curled somewhat, rather than straight. He wore glasses with thin frames, when Zero had never needed them. His eyes were gray, rather than sparkling amethyst.

And it was as obvious as day and night that this boy - this _child_ \- was the former leader of the Black Rebellion and later, the Demon Emperor.

Kaguya knew Lelouch wasn't who he claimed to be, at the end. She'd been informed much later about the Zero Requiem, once peace had reigned for years without stopping, and it was clear the Requiem had succeeded.

Lelouch had died thinking none of them would ever know the truth.

And yet here he was.

"Sorry about that," he murmured, and Kaguya almost choked on air, because his voice was the _exact same_. Softer, less confidant, sure. There were some inflections that differed from before. But it was fundamentally the same voice that had rallied them all towards the liberation of Japan.

She searched his eyes, almost desperately, and found no recognition in them. Maybe it was too much of a long shot, to hope he would remember.

Her younger guard stepped forward, glaring at him. "How dare you-"

"No, it's alright," Kaguya said, finally finding her voice, and waving him off. "Are you- no, you can't be. How is this possible?"

It was a story, an old wives tale. And yet, somehow, it made sense. If anyone was to be reincarnated after drastically changing the world, of course it would be Lelouch.

Perhaps, she realized, she should've expected that, out of anyone, Lelouch would find a way to defy the odds and Reincarnate. Kaguya had to fight back a smile at the thought.

She could've sworn she heard the meow of a cat again. Lelouch _would_ be one to defy the rules like that.

Lelouch(?) looked her in the eyes. He looked more than a little unsettled. "I'm sorry, I don't think we've met before. I need to go back to my table now. Sorry for bumping into you." With that, he hurried off towards the seating area. Kaguya saw him sit down between two people with blond hair and made a note of that.

"Sumeragi-san? Do you know that boy?" Sugino asked.

Kaguya hummed, still gazing at where Lelouch had gone to. "He reminded me very much of someone I used to care about, is all."

* * *

C.C. was out of contact with everyone, as usual, and Empress Nunnally was passing an important law regarding her citizens, which meant that she and Zero couldn't be torn away from their work. Kallen was visiting them at the moment, which meant she was out of the question as well. And Kaguya certainly wasn't going to trust Lloyd with this information.

Which meant, out of those who knew about the Zero Requiem and thus cared deeply about the original Zero, Kaguya had two options. Both should be together at the moment, which was perfect.

"Ah, Ms. Kaguya. What can I do for you?" Jeremiah's voice echoed through her phone. "It's not often that you call unprompted."

Kaguya took a steadying breath. Truth be told, she was still shaken by her encounter. Even after fifteen years, the effect Lelouch had on her hadn't truly faded. "It's good to hear from you, Jeremiah. Could you get Sayoko as well? I wish to speak to you both, urgently."

"Of course," he agreed, suddenly all business. After a few moments, she could hear Sayoko's voice through the phone as well.

"Kaguya-san. What can we do for you?" The former maid and ninja asked.

"It's a bit of a long story. How much do either of you know about Reincarnation?"

"Not much," Jeremiah admitted. Sayoko said the same.

"Right then." And so Kaguya explained the story to them, and how she had run into one such person just the other day.

"I see." They took it in quickly, but Kaguya wasn't surprised. They had both seen so much done with different Geasses, after all, even if they didn't know about personas. "Is this a threat we need to be worried about?"

"Not quite." The words caught in her throat, the reality of what she had seen, who she had met, dawning on her. "It was Lelouch. He obviously didn't remember who he was, but it was clearly him."

There was silence from the other end.

"Master Lelouch," Sayoko finally whispered. "He's been reborn? Truly?"

"We need to find him at once!" Jeremiah insisted. "I can't believe it, my Lord is out there once again and I didn't know…!"

"Not quite so fast," Kaguya said gently. "If anyone who didn't know about the Requiem recognized him…"

"They might kill him on the spot," Sayoko finished gravely, to Jeremiah's indignant sputter of horror. "I am sure Cornelia, for example, wouldn't hesitate." An image of Cornelia striking down the boy she had just seen flashed through Kaguya's head, and she shuddered. Whether he had his memories or not, she didn't doubt the Princess would blame him for his past actions.

"We can't just leave him be!" Jeremiah protested. "I cannot just leave him be. I thought I failed him once, when he was small. I watched him die on his own orders, and could not do a thing. I will _not_ let it happen again. I can't fail him a third time."

Kaguya could almost sense that Sayoko was putting a comforting hand on the Knight of Orange's arm. "Of course. I refuse to let him down either, even if he doesn't remember. Kaguya-san, can you tell me where you saw him, what he looked like, and how you interacted with him?"

Kaguya told her. "I will review the security tapes and find him. We can proceed from there." She let out a soft sigh. "I don't suppose you've told Mistress Nunnally about this yet."

"Not yet," Kaguya agreed. "She's working hard right now, and I don't wish to distract her."

"We'll need to tell her eventually," Jeremiah pointed out. "It would be cruel to keep her in the dark about her beloved brother being alive."

"I know. And we will. As soon as we make sure he's safe."

* * *

"His name is Ren Amamiya," Sayoko informed her, two days later. "Born minutes after the confirmed death of Lelouch vi Britannia. He's half Japanese, half Britannian, goes to Shujin Academy, where a teacher was just convicted of horribly abusing his students, and lives in the dusty attic of a restaurant." He tone belied what must only be a fraction of her fury. _An attic, really?_

But she did finally have a new name to go with his new face. Ren. It was a pleasant name. The more Kaguya thought about it, the more sense it made that he would be half Japanese and half Britannian. He had been a man of both, after all.

And Shujin Academy… Kaguya had heard about the scandal involving the school, as it was all over the news. Not to mention the rumors of calling cards posted at the school a week before the teacher confessed.

"At least we know more," she said. "I can't do much at the moment, leading Kyoto house. But…"

"I will continue to watch over him," Sayoko agreed to her unspoken request. "I somehow doubt he'll be able to avoid any trouble for long, after all."

Kaguya chuckled. "This is Lelouch we're talking about, after all. Trouble always finds him, if he doesn't mind trouble first."

They had no idea how right they were, of course.

* * *

**Answers to Comments:**

**CheesyPotatoFries: I'm glad you're liking it! And while C.C. already obviously knows _something_, having been in the metaverse already, she isn't the only one who knows about personas, as this chapter shows. As for lgor... you'll see!**

**catabek06: Don't worry about leaving multiple comments, I'm always happy to read them! (1) Yup, we'll being heading to Ashford at some point in the Madarame arc, which should be fun (for us, not necessarily for Ren). And our Code Geass characters are still very much moving around, even if behind the scenes at the moment. I hope you enjoyed Kaguya's chapter! And I'm really glad you like how I wrote Ryuji. In the game, it seemed that once the Kamoshida arc was over, he got shoehorned into the "pervy best friend" category Atlus loves, which really contradicted all his characterization until then. (I mean, the Ryuji who was so furious at what Kamoshida did, blatantly ogling someone he knew was a victim? Doesn't really add up. And that's not even getting started on how they use "beating up a physical abuse victim" for laughs.) I'm going to try keeping his original character in tact. Angry and impulsive, sure, but absolutely loyal and hates injustice. ****(2) I'm glad you liked Ren's backstory. He can't get away from being compared to a dead person in this life, whether it's his sister, or his past self.**

**foxchick1: I'm so glad!**

**nobodyreallyimportant: You cracked the code. That's the real reason. :)**

**Gojosin: It's no problem! Although Ren isn't related to Dojima, he's friends with Nanako and knows Dojima well by extension. Sorry if I seemed to imply otherwise. I don't have any plans for Yu showing up at the moment, but who knows, things might change in the future.**

**EvanderAdvent: I haven't, actually, and I'm happy to answer! I started planning this out well before Royal came out, so I don't have any plans to include those two, or the Third Semester as a whole. That doesn't mean that some little things from Royal won't show up, but the main extra storyline won't be included.**

**kerrowe: You're pretty much on the nose. Madarame and Kamoshida are the least flexible when it comes to changing up P5 targets, but things will be heading in a **_very_** different direction after that. And of course, there's Ashford Academy to think about. I'm glad you're liking Ren so far, and Knightmare cognitions will show up, no worries! **

**Guest: Oh wow, thank you so much! I'm so glad you're liking it!**

**de-Morgana: Suzaku is still Zero, and is still active in this world, yes.**

**That's all for now! Hope you enjoyed, and please don't forget to review! They make these chapters come faster, after all!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm so sorry for the extended delay! Things have picket up quite a bit in real life these past few months, as I'm sure many of you can imagine. But we're back, and with a new chapter, setting up the next arc, and introducing changes the butterfly affect is already causing, both big and small. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Exams went by like a breeze, as they usually did for Ren. Even without Morgana hiding out in his desk and thinking aloud about the answers, he probably could've finished those questions in his sleep. It looked like tests weren't any harder here than they were back in Inaba. As it was, Ren went into the final day of testing feeling more than a little confident.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for his friends. Both Ryuji and Ann met him at the train station, looking absolutely exhausted. "You know how they say trying to cram information in your brain the night before the test doesn't really help?" Ann said, rubbing her eyes. "I tried anyway. Here's to hoping they're wrong."

"Well at least that means it didn't really matter that I gave up studying and went to playing video games instead," Ryuji yawned.

Morgana rolled his eyes from inside Ren's bag. "That just makes it even worse, you dumb monkey."

"Oh shaddup!"

"You're both going to fail, and then I'm going to laugh at you," Ren commented dryly. Ryuji punched his arm.

"Asshole. Not all of us can be geniuses. We all know you didn't actually study for this either." Ren shrugged, not denying his words.

Morgana let out a long suffering sigh. "You're all terrible students."

"Will you guys shut up for a second? You're gonna make me forget everything I mem-" Ann cut off suddenly, looking behind her with a wary expression. "Am I imagining things?"

"You think someone's watching you again?" Ren thought about his own feelings of being watched, feelings that came and went but had showed up again and again over finals week. With all that in mind, he was certainly inclined to take Ann's feelings seriously.

"That guy. He's watching us." Morgana's voice was clipped. Ren looked around and noticed a tall figure turned their way, before their train finally came, and the four of them boarded. Even as they got on, the hairs on the back of Ren's neck still stood up.

They got off at their stop and kept moving, Ryuji walking behind Ann and Ren standing in front of her. Ann looked behind them, and her eyes widened. "The guy, the figure, he got off! He's coming this way!" Ryuji let out an involuntary yawn, and she glared at him. "Hey, at least act like you care!"

"Course I care!" Ryuji said back. "I'm just 'effin exhausted. We'll catch the bastard once we're out of the station, if he's still there." Ren looked at him curiously, wondering what he had in mind. Ryuji explained his idea, and he and Ann agreed.

Out on the sidewalk, Ann stood by herself, looking at her phone, as the person they suspected walked up to her. Ren tried to quell the nervousness in his gut, reminding himself that Ann could take care of herself, and that they were going to interfere anyways. As soon as the person got close, stretching out his hand towards Ann, he and Ryuji smoothly stepped out and in front of her, and Ren finally got a better look at her stalker.

He was wearing a uniform for another high school, Kosei, if Ren remembered right. He was tall and thin, practically a beanpole, with blue hair that was mostly swept to one side. On his belt were a bunch of keys that seemed to jingle slightly as he moved.

The boy looked at them curiously. "Is there something you want?"

"Hey, that's my line!" Ann snapped back. "You were the one stalking _me_!"

He looked perplexed. "Stalking you? That's absurd."

"I know you've been following me since the train," Ann countered shortly. "And today isn't the first time either!"

The boy still looked confused. "That's because-"

Before he could state his reason, a car with darkened windows pulled up, and one of said windows rolled down to reveal a familiar figure, although Ren couldn't quite remember where he had seen him. "I had wondered why you had left the car," the man said. He was older, with white hair pulled back in a ponytail. "So this is where your passion led. Well, all's well that ends well." He chuckled a bit as the window rolled back up, leaving them all to stare blankly at the car that was now pulling away.

The boy turned back to them. "Forgive me, I saw you from the car, and couldn't help but chase after you. I didn't even notice the calls from Sensei… but thank goodness I caught up to you."

Ren narrowed his eyes. After everything they had gone through, and the way Kamoshida had gone after Ann, those words left a bad taste in his mouth. "Why so eager?" He said.

The boy seemed to ignore him. "You're the woman I've been searching for all this time! Please, won't you-" he flung his arm out, nearly hitting a passerby, who yelped, "-be the model for my next art piece?"

"...Man, you really should've started with that," Ryuji told him, looking somewhere between suspicious and amused.

Ann looked a little curious. "What do you mean? Why?"

"All that I've drawn until now has been lacking, but I feel a passion from you unlike anyone else," the boy explained. "What do you say? Will you work with me?"

Ann took a step back, raising an eyebrow slightly. "I don't even know who you are."

That seemed to startle the boy. "Ah, where are my manners?" He straightened up. "I'm a second year at Kosei High's Fine Arts Division. My name is Yusuke Kitagawa. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Madarame-sensei's pupil, and I am being allowed residence at his place."

Morgana shifted in Ren's bag, and he looked at Yusuke with a bit more consideration. _Madarame, huh?_ What were the chances it was the same Madarame as the one Nakanohara had mentioned, the man who had destroyed his life?

Ann's eyes went wide. "As in the super famous artist?" But with the way her eyes went to Ren, he knew she had remembered as well.

"The very same," Kitagawa confirmed.

"Yusuke!" The old man in the car called out. Kitagawa stiffened.

"I'll be there in a moment, Sensei!" He turned back to Ann. "Madarame-sensei's exhibition will begin at the department store near the station tomorrow. I'll be there to help out on opening day. Please come by. It would be great if you could give me your answer on being a model by then." He looked over at Ryuji with narrowed eyes. "I'm sure you have no interest in the fine arts, but I'll give you tickets too." Ryuji scoffed at him, looking unimpressed. With that, he handed Ann three tickets, bowed to her, and walked towards the car, getting in next to Madarame.

"Asshole," Ryuji muttered. "How does he know I wouldn't like the fine arts?"

"Do you like them?" Ren wondered.

"Not really," Ryuji admitted. "But that doesn't mean he can crap all over me like that! He just said that cause I look like a delinquent."

Ann patted his shoulder reassuringly. "It's okay Ryuji. Not being into art doesn't make you any less of a good guy." Ryuji gave her a thankful smile.

Ren considered the tickets. He wouldn't say he was the most interested in art museums, but they could hold his attention for an afternoon or so, especially the really good ones. But that wasn't really the point.

"I'm far more curious about Madarame than his artwork," he muttered. "Especially if it's the same Madarame that Nakanohara talked about."

Ryuji went wide-eyed, and looked past them to the car driving away. "Oh yeah, that's right! Do you think Kitagawa's in trouble then? I mean, the guys kinda a creep, but he doesn't deserve to have his life ruined, or whatever."

"I think I'll go to the exhibit tomorrow," Ann decided. "Maybe we can learn more while we're there."

"Are you sure?" Morgana asked. "I mean, that boy is highly suspicious! I wouldn't be surprised if he's up to something."

"All the better to find out what then, right?" Ann offered. "And we did promise to find out more about Madarame. If this could help, then I think we should do it."

"That's true, I suppose. And hey, appreciating fine arts builds character!" Morgana piped up. "Phantom Thieves should know the real from the fake."

Ryuji looked pretty unenthusiastic. "If everyone else is going, I'm in too. Let's hope it isn't too boring."

Still, Ren could tell the others were as apprehensive as he was. But what choice did they have?

It looked like any trip to Ashford Academy was going to be put off for the next couple days.

* * *

"Alright," Ren said, starting as soon as he and Morgana had caught up with the other two. "So I spent some time last night researching-"

"You stayed up way later than you should have!" Morgana interrupted.

"It's fine, it wasn't that late-"

"It was finals!"

"It was the last day of finals, I could stay up if I wanted to." Ren rolled his eyes, taking in Ryuji and Ann's amused expressions. "Anyways, I did some more research on Madarame."

"And what did you find?" Ann asked.

The amusement from arguing with Morgana faded away. "Well, he's an artist with so many different styles that many are surprised that one man can paint all of that. He's had many pupils before, including Nakanohara, but they all seem to disappear into obscurity as soon as he's done teaching them. There was-" he paused, and cleared his throat. "There was an article about how one of his pupils committed suicide."

Ann gasped. Ryuji looked furious. "How dare that asshole-!"

"Keep your voice down, we're not in mementos," Morgana hissed. Then he sobered. "Yeah, it's awful. And it's definitely Yusuke's teacher. They're the same Madarame. Something's definitely up with that guy." Ann looked distraught, and Ren couldn't blame her. After everything that had happened with Shiho, the knowledge that someone had possibly been driven to suicide by the artist hit even harder than it might have otherwise.

"Yeah." They approached the entrance. "Just don't stick your head out, alright? We'll be in serious trouble if someone sees you." Morgana huffed, but ducked into Ren's bag.

Kitagawa was wearing a nicer shirt and jacket, seemingly wandering around the exhibit. Then he noticed Ann and his eyes lit up. "You came!" He said, quickly walking over. His gaze fell on Ren and Ryuji, and the excitement damped. "And you two came as well."

Ren, feeling more than a little irritated at Kitagawa's attitude, put on his best smile. "Yes, well, who are we to skip the chance of appreciating the fine arts? Especially when you've been so eager to talk with our friend." He took note of the way Ryuji was standing protectively to Ann's side, and wondered if Kitagawa had noticed it as well.

Ryuji shook his head. "Seriously, what did you expect when you gave us those tickets?"

Kitagawa narrowed his eyes. "Just don't get in the way of the other visitors." He smoothly turned back to Ann. "Come, I'll show you around. I'd like to speak more about the picture I'd like to create as well."

Ann looked at them apologetically. "Well, see you guys later, I guess."

"Are you going to be alright?" Ren asked quietly. Ann gave him a thumbs up.

"After everything we've been through? I can handle this. Thank you though." She gave them both a smile and headed after Kitagawa.

"I still don't like that guy," Morgana muttered from inside the bag.

Ryuji snorted. "Yeah, that makes all of us. Come on, we're already here, so we might as well walk around, or something." They made their way through the art gallery, moving past people to look at the different paintings. They seemed to range from simple portraits to detailed and beautiful renditions of what Mt. Fuji must've looked like before the Invasion.

"These are definitely different styles," Ren murmured. "Although there's one style that seems like it's used more than most."

Ryuji sighed. "I seriously can't tell. I'm no good at this art stuff, not like you guys are." Ren was about to comfort him when the other boy perked up. "Hey, it's the old man. The one who's probably Madarame." Ren could feel Morgana trying to peak out of his bag and shoved the cat down, to the other's displeasure. They headed closer.

Sure enough, Madarame was there, dressed in a humble yukata, talking to a group of reporters, many with cameras. "Your imagination continues to astound us," one of them was saying. "You have such expansive styles that it's almost hard to believe it all stems from one person."

_Because it clearly didn't_. Ren was definitely getting the picture here.

"It's a bit difficult to put into words," Madarame responded. "It wells up within my heart, like bubbles from a wellspring. What's important is to distance oneself from distractions like money and fame. My altier is but a modest shack, but it is more than enough to inspire true beauty."

"Shack…" Ryuji said. Ren turned to him curiously, but before he could ask more, they were swarmed by curious visitors who had finally realized Madarame was there.

* * *

"What was it you said about a shack?" Ren wondered, when they had finally left the exhibit with Ann, and hopped into the metaverse. The department store was totally empty in the other world, which felt more than a little strange. "Before we got shoved around by that crowd."

"One of the requests on the Phansite, actually." Ryuji held his phone up to show them. "A master of the Japanese Arts is plagiarizing his pupil's work. Only his public face is shown on TV."

"So he really is plagiarizing, then." Ann wrinkled her nose. "When we were there, I got to see my favorite new piece of his. It had this really strong feeling of anger and frustration, and Kitagawa acted… weird around it. Like he had some personal connection with it, or something."

"It might be his own work," Morgana nodded.

"Yeah, and there's more." Ryuji continued to read. "His treatment of his pupils is awful. He teaches nothing, and bosses them around. He treats them inhumanely, as if disciplining a dog." He glared at the screen. "That bastard. If this is true, then I'm super for taking him down, just like Kamoshida."

"I wonder if Kitagawa posted this," Ann mused. "I mean, he is a pupil of Madarame's."

Ryuji shrugged. "Not like we can find out, since it's anonymous and all."

Ren turned to Ann. "And the modeling thing?"

"Kitagawa gave me his contact info, and the address of his Sensei's atelier," Ann informed him.

Ren let out a small smirk. "Well then, if Madarame does have a palace, we'll know where to start looking."

* * *

They took the train to Madarame's the next day, Ren and Ann sitting with Morgana in Ren's bag as usual, and Ryuji standing in front of them.

"With all this Phantom Thieves stuff, I kinda wish we had a more glamorous way to travel," Ryuji admitted to them, after being elbowed by someone the third time. "I mean, it's less annoying than it used to be cause things just seem to hurt less, but that doesn't mean it's fun."

"Yeah, but crossing mementos would take too long," Ann countered. "Plus the train allows pets."

Allows- crap. Ren coughed awkwardly. They both looked at him.

He sighed. "So. I may have forgotten about paying the pet fare. In my defense, I carry Morgana everywhere now, so it's not like I was thinking about it." Ryuji snickered, and Ann gave him an incredulous look.

"Hey, I'm not a pet!" Morgana snapped. "I don't need some stupid pet fare!"

Ryuji snickered louder. "No offense, but for all terms and purposes, you kinda are. I mean, Ren feeds you, takes you out on walks-"

"Shut up!" Morgana sputtered. "I'm the one teaching you how to be thieves and guiding you to your destination. You should be calling me Sensei!"

"Oh, kitty!" _Oh, that's not good_. They all turned to see a little girl walking towards them, eyes filled with delight as she looked at Morgana. "Is that your pet mister? I heard it meowing!"

"Shi-Shoot," Ann muttered under her breath, so only they could hear her. "Um, no, this is just a toy. It… meows when you press it's head."

"It's true," Ren chimed in. "It's a really neat toy, but it _only_ meows when you press it's head." Morgana scoffed and sputtered some more in Ren's lap, moodily going silent.

A shit-eating grin grew across Ryuji's face. "You know Renren, you should give the girl a demonstration. Press on its head." Ren smiled at the girl and did just that.

"This is ridiculous," Morgana groaned. "Meowwww."

The little girl jumped on the balls of her feet, excited. "Wow! Again, again!"

"As long as you don't button mash my head or anything," Mona sighed.

After a moment's hesitation, Ren leaned closer and whispered "Sorry Mona," then processed to gently button mash. Ryuji and Ann lost it, Ann leaning on his shoulder to steady herself while she giggled, and Ryuji holding onto one of the poles to keep himself from falling over cackling.

* * *

Madarame's place…

Well.

"Yeah, that's a shack," Ren said, looking up at the decrepit building. It almost seemed like the metal walls were scarps being held together by bolts. It was hard to imagine a possible con artist living in a place like this.

Ann checked her phone. "And we're definitely at the right address. It does say Madarame."

Ryuji grimaced. "I thought Madarame was exaggerating when he talked about his so-called "humble abode". Yeesh." He looked over to Ann. "You want to ring the doorbell?"

"The walls won't collapse when I do, will they?" Ann muttered, but stepped forwards, Ren, Ryuji, and Morgana following behind her. She rang the doorbell.

"Who is it?" Kitagawa's voice echoed out from the small speaker under the bell. "Sensei is currently out of the house."

"Ah, it's Takamaki-san, from the art show," Ann said, shifting nervously.

Kitagawa's voice noticeably perked up. "I'll be right out."

A moment later, the door slid open, and the tall blue haired boy was right behind it. "Takamaki-sa-" He seemed to take in Ren and Ryuji. "...You two are here as well?" He narrowed his eyes, the excitement having drained out of his voice.

"We're here for moral support, of course," Ren said, a bit of false cheer in his tone. Ryuji just looked at the artist with an unimpressed expression. "Ann means a lot to us, you see. I'm sure you don't mean any harm, but what kind of friends would we be if we let her go alone into an uncomfortable situation?"

Kitagawa looked even more displeased than before, but he let out a little "tch" and schooled his expression. "Alright, fine. Come on in."

The inside of the shack wasn't any more impressive than the outside. Sure, it seemed to have all the basic necessities, but it was plain and minimalist in a way that invoked the image of the starving artist cliché. And while Ren did overhear how Madarame was saying he liked to keep things simple at the museum, this seemed almost too set up.

They passed the kitchen, where Madarame seemed to be making himself some tea, contrary to Kitagawa's earlier statement that Madarame wasn't home. Ryuji seemed to pick up on this as well, as he turned to the teenage artist. "Didn't you say Madarame wasn't here?"

Kitagawa stiffened, and Madarame looked up. "Yusuke? Why would you say that?"

"I… thought you might not wish to be disturbed, Sensei," Kitagawa said.

_Except,_ Ren mused, _that didn't fit into Madarame's image at all_.

"Thank you for your concern, Yusuke. I'd be perfectly happy receiving visitors in the future, however." Madarame smiled at all of them. "Thank you for agreeing to model with my student, young miss, but I'm afraid I require Yusuke's assistance today." He smiled at Kitagawa, who nodded somewhat stiffly. But please come back another time. I assure you my pupil's artwork won't disappoint." With that, he grabbed some sort of snack out of a cupboard and breezed past them.

"I am terribly sorry," Kitagawa said, "that you came all this way for nothing. But I do wish to paint you, so please come again." He directed them back towards the entrance to the house.

"Right, of course." Ann followed Kitagawa, then stopped and turned to him. "Ren?"

Ren hadn't moved yet, still looking into the kitchen. "I'll be up in a moment," he assured them.

Kitagawa's eyes narrowed. "I do hope you aren't planning to take anything."

_Only your sensei's distorted desires_. But Ren didn't voice that, of course. "You can watch me, if you want. I'm not planning on taking anything."

When Kitagawa didn't move, Ren took that as his cue to step into the kitchen, and open the cabinet Madarame had taken food out of. Sure enough, it was almost empty.

"You don't have many of those snacks, do you?" Ryuji commented.

Kitagawa shifted behind him. "Ah, they're sensei's favorites. No reason to stock-" he cut himself off abruptly.

"But Madarame lives here too, doesn't he?" Ann pressed. "Wouldn't he want to keep his favorite foods here?"

"Are you sure he lives here that often?" Ryuji added. "It would make a lot more sense if he didn't."

"Of course he does!" Kitagawa snapped. "You all are spitting baseless accusations." Ren turned to see the boy was fuming. "Sensei took me in when I had no family to go to! His greatest work, the Sayuri, is what inspired my own artwork! I won't just let you slander the man who I owe my life."

Ann looked curious. "The Sayuri?" Kitagawa nodded and showed her something on his phone.

"Like I said, it's Sensei's greatest work."

Ren was still in the kitchen, and couldn't see what Kitagawa was showing, although judging by Ann and Ryuji's reactions, it was rather impressive. But he could see Kitagawa, and now that he was looking, Kitagawa seemed more than just a tall beanpole of a teenager, he seemed _thin_. And not in the best way.

Ren headed over to the fridge and opened it. Inside was a milk cartoon, several cucumbers, and some lettuce…

And that was it.

There was no way Madarame lived here.

Ren closed the fridge door, feeling something heavy in his chest. "Right, I'm coming." He followed them out of the house.

* * *

"There's nothing in the fridge," he told them shortly, once they were out of the shack. "And I'm willing to bet there's not much in the other cupboards as well. Kitagawa is too thin."

Ann's eyes widened. "You think so? I guess it would make sense that Madarame really lives somewhere else, but would he really starve his own student?" She frowned. "Then again, that post on the phansite did say he treats his students horribly."

"You picked up on that surprisingly fast, Ren," Morgana muttered from inside his bag.

Ren shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah well. I know a little bit about guardians who can be a bit neglecting in the food department. Not to this extent. But, still."

The truth was that after Yuki, his big sister, had died, both of his parents had been far too caught up in their grief to remember something small like the fact that they still had a five year old child to feed. Ren had learned to cook through stove burns and hungry nights of inedible attempts at dinner. It was something he and Nanako had bonded over, having to take care of themselves when they were younger, because their parents couldn't do it for some reason.

But there was a difference between not remembering to cook dinner for a kid and leaving a ward with no food whatsoever. Kitagawa might be _starving_.

He tried not to focus on his friend's concerned expressions. "We should find out if he has a palace. Kitagawa's health might depend on it."

"Right!" With a determined expression on her face, Ann pulled up her metaverse app. "Um. Ichiryusai Madarame."

The app _dinged_. "_Match found_." She stared at it for a moment, then lowered her eyes. "He does have a palace then."

"Something wrong?" Ryuji asked.

Ann shook her head. "No, it's just… he's so much better at pretending to be a nice person than Kamoshida was, I guess. If we hadn't seen the empty kitchen, I dunno if I would've believed he could be as horrible." She shivered. "That almost makes it worse, that he could hide it like that."

"Maybe he should've gone into the acting business instead of plagiarism," Ren suggested dryly. "Do you think "Shack" is the location?"

"_Match found_."

"Now we just need the distortion," Morgana pointed out, balancing easily on the railing next to them. "Like how Kamoshida's distortion was a castle. We need to figure out what Madarame sees this shack as."

"How about castle?" Ann suggested.

"_Match not found_."

Ryuji scratched the back of his head. "Then, prison?"

"_Match not found_."

Ren tapped his chin. "Maybe we should think in terms of art, since Madarame is an artist. Or at least, he's pretending to be one. Maybe art studio? Or Museum?"

"_Match found_. _Beginning Navigation_."

Ann looked at the Nav. "It looks like Museum was right." And as she said this, the world twisted around them, before straightening out. Joker felt his metaverse outfit slip on, the red gloves and white mask fitting back into place. Next to them, Mona was back in his strange mascot form. Above them, the sky wasn't the normal blue it had been, or the oppressive red of Kamoshida's castle, but a deep blue.

And where the shack was in the real world, a sprawling golden museum that stretched much further into the sky stood instead. Spotlights shown up into the misty air around it, giving off the feel of some sort of fancy Hollywood exhibit.

"Wow, it's pretty," Panther murmured. Then she winced. "And kinda gaudy. At least we didn't activate the Nav while any closer." It was true. At their distance from the shack, it didn't seem like anything around them had changed.

"Yeah. Although it looks like none of the cars have changed." Skull pointed to the perfectly normal looking cars on the street in front of the museum. "Would've thought they'd have changed to fancier cars to match the gold shack-museum."

"He probably doesn't see the cars on this street as anything other than what they are," Mona informed them. "In a place with minimal cognitive distortion, the differences can be a lot more subtle."

"Let's get a closer look," Joker decided. His teammates agreed, and they approached the entrance, where a sprawling line of cognitive visitors waited to get inside the massive museum. There seemed to be only one point where they could enter, as the rest of the premises were surrounded by a high golden wall.

"I don't get it," Panther admitted. "Madarame's already got museums in reality. His exhibit was popular, and people already respect him. Why would he fantasize about a museum?"

"Maybe the gold is all gilded when you get closer?" Mona offered. "I mean, we're pretty sure he's a fraud already. Maybe all the gaudiness is overcompensation."

Skull shrugged. "Makes as much sense as anything else. But why would it be on the shack where he probably doesn't even live?" He shook his head. Anyways, we're not going to wait in that giant line, are we?"

"Don't be stupid, we're not going through the front door." Mona rolled his eyes. "We'll just need to find a way over the wall."

Joker nodded to himself, activating Third Eye. A small blue symbol appeared over a large truck at the end of the parking lot near the wall, and he supposed that meant that with their metaverse skills, they could use it to get over. Letting the Eye ability dissipate, he lead his friends up and onto the top of the wall.

Now with a higher vantage point, Joker could see more of the massively gaudy museum, the well kept lawn around it, and the line stretching even further inside. And the roof seemed to be filled with skylights which were-

_Wait_.

A chill ran down Joker's spine.

"Is this really how he thinks of that runnnmmmgh!" Joker put his hand over Mona's mouth.

"_Look_," he hissed, pointing.

There, coming out of the skylights, and now running across the roof, was another figure who obviously wasn't a cognition. Joker dragged Mona off the wall, back onto the van and out of sight, Panther and Skull quickly following him.

"Who is that?" Panther whispered. She turned to Skull. "Can you give me a little boost?"

"Y-Yeah, of course." Skull bent down and held out his hands. Panther stepped up on them and bounced off like a springboard, putting her arms and head over the wall and looking for the figure.

"I think that's a metaverse outfit, like ours," she relayed back to them. "They look kind of like a Super Sentai villain honestly. It's a bold style choice." Despite the joke, Panther's voice shook a bit. Joker hadn't seen enough of the person to confirm or deny that anyways. "And, they're gone. Like how we get out of the metaverse." She slipped back down onto the van with them. "Oh my god, we really aren't the only ones who can come here."

"Do we know for sure if this Sentai guy is the one causing the mental shutdowns?" Skull wondered. "Should we assume he is?"

"We can't assume anything," Mona pointed out. "But we'll need to keep an eye out for them." The four of them stayed on the van for a minute longer, contemplating what they had seen. Sure, Joker had his theories, but to know for sure that there was someone besides them and C.C. who could come to the metaverse was sobering.

With a sigh, he got to his feet. "If they're gone, there's no better time to explore the new palace. But only if all of you are up for it."

Panther nodded and got to her feet. "No worries, I'm fine. Just a little shaken."

"We won't let Sentai stop us from doing our thing!" Skull added, causing Panther to laugh a little in surprise. "I mean, we're Phantom Thieves! Robbing a museum is totally our thing. Especially if the museum owner is starving his student."

"That's right," Mona agreed. "Just say the word Joker, and we'll begin our infiltration."

Joker smiled fondly at all of them. "Alright, let's head in. If Sentai took the skylight, there's a good chance we can get in through there. The infiltration starts now."

* * *

They had to run through the garden and hop across the top of statues, clambering up the side of the building, but it was still just as exciting as those easy movements had been in Kamoshida's palace. In fact, Joker noted, it almost seemed even easier as time went on. Especially in the shadows, where he felt light as a feather.

"I get what you mean," Skull said, when Joker mentioned this. "I dunno about the shadows part, but it's like I'm super energized or something, which is making everything faster."

"It's probably tied to your main persona abilities," Mona informed them. "It should keep getting stronger as time goes on."

"And make a difference outside the metaverse?" Panther noted. "Because that's also been happening."

"You didn't think a normal cat could easily jump from the ground onto Joker's shoulder, did you?" Mona pointed out smugly. "And it gets more powerful the more powerful you get in the metaverse." They reached the skylight, which was still open.

Panther peered in. "It's a pretty far drop down. If Sentai had rope, they took it with them."

Mona grinned. "Don't worry, we've got our own!" Knowing what Mona meant, Joker pulled the rope out of his pocket.

"Most of the crafts Mona and I make appear in my thief coat pockets," he told them, tying the rope to a knob on the opening of the skylight. "Sort of like how we can summon our melee weapons and guns without needing to carry them around in the real world now." He tested the rope and stepped back to admire his work. "I can go first."

Skull gestured at the skylight. "If you're sure, man." Joker nodded and climbed down, the rope holding well. He heard the others dropping down after him.

"At least we've got gloves!" Panther joked. "It would suck doing that bare-handed."

Skull grinned. "Man, wouldn't it be cool if we had grappling hooks or something?"

"Maybe when we've got enough money to buy something like that." Joker imagined having his own grappling hook, and admittedly, it sounded pretty cool. He wondered if there was anywhere he could buy one in the real world, before shaking his head and focusing on the museum.

The inside was empty. For all the cognitions of fans waiting outside, none of them seemed to be inside the museum itself. There were paintings, but they all seemed to be portraits of people, usually young people with small plaques under them. The portraits themselves seemed to be shimmering, almost moving.

"It's quiet. Too quiet," Mona murmured.

"Those pictures." Panther looked them over. "What do you think they're about? They reflect some part of Madarame's heart, right?"

Skull went over to one of the paintings, and looked at the plaque underneath. "This is just someone's name and age. Maybe the person in the painting?"

"Same with this one," Mona called out, looking at another painting. "They're definitely important. And there seems to be lots of them." They moved quietly throughout the gallery, passing through about three rooms filled with paintings until-

"That's Nakanohara, isn't it?" Panther looked up at the large portrait in front of them. "Why is he a portrait here?"

Joker's stomach sank as things clicked into place. "He studied here, under Madarame," he reminded his friends quietly. "The shack is a museum, and all his students are the collection."

The others looked horrified. "That's sick," Skull finally said. "That's all he thinks of them? Geez, if he thinks of Kitagawa as an object, no wonder he doesn't bother to keep around food."

Panther glared at the portrait. "It's like he's proud of all the lives he's ruined and art he's stolen. That's just awful." Her eyes widened, as though she had thought of something awful. "The student of his who committed suicide, does he have a portait too?"

"Probably," Mona admitted gravely. Panther let out a harsh breath, and Joker put his hand on her shoulder, steadying her. She sent him a grateful smile.

"Let's take this bastard down, yeah?" Her voice only shook a little bit. "We can't let him ruin any more lives or cause any more deaths."

"Of course," Joker assured her.

"He won't know what's hit him!" Skull promised.

Mona nodded. "It's our job as Phantom Thieves to bring him to justice."

As they wandered further, they paused in front of Kitagawa's portrait. It was on its own wall, the only remaining student Madarame had.

"We'll get him out of this mess," Panther said aloud, and they kept going.

Interestingly enough, there were still no shadows in the front entrance of the museum. There was, however, a pamphlet with part of a map on it, which they took with them. Dipping into the next room, the group paused in front of a large golden sculpture.

"_The Infinite Spring_," Joker read from the plaque. "_A conglomerate work of art that the great director Madarame created with his own funds. These individuals must offer their ideas to the director for the rest of their lives. Those who cannot do so have no worth living_."

Panther's hands tightened around her arms. "He really thinks he owns his students, doesn't he?"

"Didn't Kitagawa say that he doesn't have any family besides Madarame?" Skull remembered. "Maybe all of his students are artistic orphans or something."

Joker frowned. "It would explain his feelings of ownership a bit more. He feels as though he saved their lives, so now they owe their artistic livelihoods to him." What a sick man. "Almost all of those paintings had been teens or young adults. A few of them looked like children."

Panther's head shot towards him, alarmed. "The person who killed themselves, they weren't a child, right?"

Skull's eyes widened. "_Fuck_."

"I don't think so," Mona assured them. "But no matter the age, it's still horrible."

"Why's Kitagawa covering all this up then?" Skull wondered. "Why's he making excuses?"

Joker studied the portrait. The figures on it were around their age, if not younger. "Maybe Madarame drills it into his pupils that they owe him their lives, and so they feel indebted to him. And once they burn out or try to leave, he destroys their lives, and it's too late for them to say anything." He turned to the others. "So, are we going to target Madarame?"

"I'm all for it!" Skull quickly agreed.

"Me too." But Panther seemed a bit hesitant. "But I think I should still do that modeling job. We might be able to learn more about Madarame that could help us in the palace that way."

"Cleaver as always, Lady Ann. And we'll come with you!" Panther reached down and Patted Mona's head with a smile.

* * *

"I still feel a little bad though," Ann admitted, as the four of them sat in the diner that afternoon. She looked down at her coffee, swirling it in her cup. "I mean, it feels different than Kamoshida, a bit. Like we're intruding on someone else's problems? Maybe it's because none of us have been hurt by him… I don't know."

Ren raised an eyebrow. "If we only went after people who personally hurt us, we'd be intentionally _not_ helping a lot of people, wouldn't we? He hasn't hut us, but he's definitely hurt others." He paused. "And people not wanting to get involved with something that wasn't personal is the reason Kamoshida got away with so much."

"When Kamoshida broke my leg, a part of me was hoping someone would care enough to step in, but until Renren came, no one did. Just like we were the only ones to try and get involved with the volleyball team's abuse. I mean, I got some pitying looks from some people, but that was it." Ryuji picked at his food. "I don't wanna be the person who only sends pitying looks and pretends that's helpful when I know it isn't. And I dunno, isn't the point of being the Phantom Thieves to not be bystanders like that anymore?"

Ann let out a breath. "You're right. I guess only focusing on those who've hurt us personally is kinda selfish, now that I think about it. And all those kids who were hurt…" she trailed off, before shaking her head. "Yeah. We can't just let this go now that we know it's happening."

"And we still know nothing about the Sentai metaverse user," Morgana added. "We'll need to be extra aware of our surroundings when infiltrating this new palace."

"Of course. But," Ren coughed out a little laugh. "Are we just going to call the person _Sentai_ now?"

Ann giggled. "Well that _was_ what their costume looked like. Ryuji and I's codenames are based on our masks, after all. And the guy was wearing all skintight black, and I'm pretty sure I saw belts. Lots of belts."

Ryuji grinned. "And if this guy really is the one causing the shutdowns and breakdowns, he totally deserves to be branded with a dumb nickname." Even Morgana snorted at that.

* * *

Ann contacted Kitagawa the next day, and they scheduled a time to meet up the day after. With an afternoon free for the first time in a while, Ren figured it was about time he went to check out Ashford Academy.

What was it that C.C. thought he would find there? What was so important about that school? Ren couldn't afford to go there in a million years, most likely. He was sure he'd never been there before either, so why would it be connected?

And yet…

"Ren?" Ren looked over to see Ann approach him. "Something on your mind?"

"Yeah," Ren admitted. "You know how I told you guys about that weird C.C. woman?"

"It was kinda confusing, but yeah."

"Well," Ren hesitated. How to explain something like this? "She suggested I go check out this school called Ashford Academy, and that I'd find something I was looking for there."

Ann's eyes lit up with recognition. "At Ashford? Really?" Seeing Ren's surprised look, she elaborated. "My parents thought about sending me there, after an-" she paused, shook her head, and continued, "-incident in my first year of middle school. I said no, because I wanted to stay with Ryuji and Shiho, and they agreed to let me stay." She shrugged. "It might be cool to finally check it out. Maybe I can help you find what you're looking for."

"I dunno," Ren said awkwardly. "I mean, it's cool if we go check it out together, but even I don't know what she was really referring to, so you don't have to help if you don't want to."

"I do want to!" Ann smiled brightly at him. "It'll be fun, I think. Plus I'm always down for spending more time with my friends, even that time is spent looking for unknown things."

Ren couldn't help but smile back, feeling the Lovers arcana start to grow again. "If you say so." They easily fell into step with each other, Ann pulling up directions and leading the way to the nearest subway station.

And, there was the feeling again, of being watched. And it was only growing stronger.

Ren swallowed, moved closer to Ann, and tried to ignore it. Whatever it was, it didn't feel actively malicious, and it could wait until after their trip to Ashford.

* * *

**And so Yusuke has been met (oh Yusuke, king of terrible first impressions), and the Phantom Thieves have a new target! Plus, Ren and Ann are taking a trip to Ashford Academy. I wonder what (or who) they'll find there? **

**In a bit of a twist, the Phantom Thieves find Black Mask before Black Mask finds them. How will this affect their further palace exploration? Hmmm.**

**With the conversation on the Thieves getting involved, it something they talk about in the actual game: how much should they get involved with other people's problems? This is what this version of thieves decides.**

**As for Ren's backstory, since this is, as one can probably tell, a story focusing on him, I figure it's important to flesh out this Ren's backstory. His parents and old life is pretty much a non-entity in game, but they did just ship their son off to some shop owner a friend knows, and didn't contact him for an entire year. It's hard to imagine loving parents acting that way, and it's also hard to imagine someone who grew up in whatever household that was cause by not being affected by it. In other words, Ren's still got parent issues! Yay! **

**I hope you enjoyed, and please don't forget to leave a review, let me know what you think! They help keep this story going, after all!**

* * *

**Answers to comments:**

**The Road In Between Worlds: I'm so glad that you're enjoying it! While some elements of Royal may be included, the new characters almost certainly won't be, due to this story being planned before Royal came out. **

**catabek06: 1) I'm glad you think it makes sense. Kaguya is smart, knows how to keep a secret, and cared deeply for Lelouch. And I'm glad you agree with Ryuji. Poor guy deserved better writing after the first palace, honestly. 2) Kaguya's definitely going to have more interactions with the crew, for sure! And Cornelia will certainly be making an appearance later on in the story. I'm glad you like how I'm writing the characters! As for Ann in particular, the next chapter should shed more confirmation on what's up with her. **

**Gojosin: I'm glad it's all cleared up! I'm always down to hear theorizing! Ryuji is admittedly a favorite character of mine, although that's not saying much, since all of the Phantom Thieves are favorite characters of mine. I wouldn't say he's totally another Yosuke, but Atlas does love to shoehorn their best friend characters into very specific tropes. **

**CheesyPotatoFries: Thanks! Yup, Kaguya and some others currently knows about the Dark Hour and the TV world, but not the metaverse. **

**de-Morgana: The police do still have some Knightmare Frames. Hmmmm.**

**foxchick1: Thank you! I'm so glad!**

**EvanderAdvent: I knew Kaguya was going to be involved with the Persona 3 cast for a while now, because she just seemed so fitting for it. She gets along very well with Mitsuru, for example. And it just wouldn't make much sense if she never told anyone that she had found the reincarnation of Lelouch vi Britannia himself. As for Haru being Euphie... I won't confirm or deny anything yet. **

**kerrowe: Somehow I doubt she'd be very surprised! And yup, Kaguya is in fact going to be a confidant! **

**nobodyreallyimportant: It certainly is! Of all the people to know about SEES, Kaguya just fits the bill, doesn't she? As for Sayoko getting dragged into the metaverse... there's certainly a large possibility of that happening. **

**sonicxjones: I'm so happy you're reading this even if you don't know much about CG! Thank you!**

**Guest: While I can totally see where you're coming from, at least one of them is still very much alive, and neither died close enough to be reincarnated as Ryuji's age. Still, if he was a reincarnation, that would definitely be interesting. As for Rolo or Mao... Hmmm. Thanks for reviewing! **


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